SOMERVILLE, Mass. — A Somerville company is using lasers and AI to help hundreds of communities across the country address the pesky problem of potholes.
Cyvl, located in a former MBTA traction-power substation, has crafted technology that identifies potholes before they form.
It’s changed the way some public works departments are scanning streets for road maintenance less than five years after the technology startup launched.
The company’s co-founders are Worcester Polytech graduates who believe their technology is a solution for tedious, outdated manual methods.
“The cities that are using us, they’ve told us we used to pave five miles of roads a year, and we’re now able to do 20 miles,” said Daniel Pelaez, Cyvl, co-founder & CEO of Cyvl. “It’s doing the work that no one really wants to do.”
Pelaez, who once worked for a public works department in New England, said he saw inefficiencies of managing roadways firsthand.
“In public works, there’s a labor shortage as it is. They don’t even have enough people and often have to hire outside consultants,” said Pelaez. “This gives them the power to do that inspection piece back in-house.”
The company assembles and ships out sensors that attach on top of a car.
Cyvl recently received a more than $90,000 state grant from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative that is helping with the growing demand.
“A city can turn around their entire pavement inspection with us in about two weeks, and the manual approaches that are out there right now can take months or sometimes even years,” said Noah Parker, co-founder of Cyvl.
Cyvl’s technology uses lasers to create three-dimensional maps.
AI is then used to predict where potholes are at risk of forming.
“If we’re seeing a hairline crack or fracture, we can identify that one is happening,” said Pelaez. “That’s been the most rewarding part - solving a problem that’s going to impact everybody.”
The company said there are about 100 of its sensors in use, which have so far been deployed in about 400 cities and towns.
It’s worked with many Massachusetts communities, including Boston, Cambridge, Newton, Brookline, Beverly, and Worcester.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW