Updated: Byxee pothole detector seeks crowd funding

This is rubbish from a technical standpoint, if you have difficulty seeing a pothole because it's dark or because of dappled light then the sensor is not going to see it either.

Visual object recognition is a notoriously difficult software problem to crack - it hasn't been done yet to a high level of accuracy in all lighting conditions. Put simply it won't be able to tell the difference between a black mark on the road and a pothole or a plastic bag.

If you were going to build a device to detect potholes, it'd likely be better to scan the area ahead with some kind of radar or lidar.

Now if the government were to issue these devices to all cyclists for free they would save billions not having to fix the roads. See, it just needs a bit Tory venture capitalism to sort out the deficit !

Sometimes in dappled light, seeing a pothole is a bit tricky. but all in all I still agree with DamienB.

What that needs is a bluetooth connection to the riders phone to automatically report potholes on the Fill That Hole app and of course post the pothole details to Facebook

If you cannot see potholes/speed bumps/cats then you should not be riding a bike.
If you cannot see how utterly pointless this is then you should not be riding a bike.
And for that reason, I'm sorry, but I'm out...

Should do a bundle deal with the pedi-scope.

Both pointless bit of crap that weirdly complement each other

Once we've added all the pothole finders, pediscopes, super-duper, all singing-all dancing lights etc to our super lightweight bikes they will be too heavy to propel.

I had a brilliant idea when out on a GF on the weekend. Its powdered water that comes in a sachet and when it interacts with air it turns back into water.

So rather than carrying all that extra weight in your water bottles you can just grab a couple of powdered water sachets, then mix with air when needed.

I have a kickstarter/crowd funded project in mind

...combining a 'similar' product as this, with a 'pedi-scope' device, Google Glass and an eyepatch for the 'other eye'...the 'new two wheeled form of transport' that it interacts with will be called a 'bye-bye cycle'.
It comes with a free wraparound 'safety jacket' and for ultimate safety it also comes with a padded room.
Any takers/backers interested...??

I use a bike to detect potholes. Very effective.

Looks like an old Star Trek spaceship!

I'm sure Wanksy will be interested in hearing about this...

Oh yea Oh yea...road.cc users have spoken! Next!

Feels like dragons den in here

It feels like every other product story on road.cc now opens with a reference to crowd funding.
Why are these fantastic inventions not being snapped up by conventional manufacturers...?

If you update your firmware, you may use the integrated device for the same purpose, called "eyes".

Another gadget that no-one needs, what's wrong with looking where you are going?

It would just be a constant beep on some roads around here. Perhaps the local councils should seek crowd funding to fill in potholes - or have a form of local tax that covers roads etc.

Why?

WHY?!

Has the hour record actually reached the point where there's now only blind people left to do it?