Understanding road-surface conditions is essential to performing proper maintenance that improves highway safety.
Sacyr InRoad is an innovative initiative from Sacyr Conservation based on artificial intelligence. This award-winning technology continuously assesses the main markers and indices that gauge roadway conservation.
With this project Sacyr Conservation won the AXA Award for Innovation and Development in Road Safety at the 14th annual “Ponle Freno” Awards, organised by Atresmedia.
Continuing the success of the prototype, Sacyr now unveils InRoad Evo. With help from the Plan to Support Sustainable and Digital Transport (Plan de Apoyo al Transporte Sostenible y Digital) to promote industrialisation processes, the project has been scaled up through the manufacture of 11 devices that include improvements to new inclination and temperature sensors to help optimise the algorithm and yield more precise results.
“The project features two technologies: one that analyses the road surface and another that assists in interpreting the results”, explains Alejandro Otero, Innovation Project Manager for Sacyr’s Innovation Division.
Sacyr InRoad measures the force exerted by vehicles, ground temperature, etc.
With regard to concession assets, it is essential to know the condition of the road surface in order to maintain a level of service and anticipate future deterioration, invariably with a focus on user safety.
To that end, Sacyr Conservation and Sacyr Concessions, together with the company’s Innovation areas, are currently collaborating to implement one of these devices on the Eresma highway (A-601 between Cuéllar and Segovia).
In addition, Sacyr Concessions will be able to feed the Prediction Tools, which will use the data collected by InRoad to predict how road surfaces behave in the long term, based on real data. The data obtained also helps the decision-making process when building new roads.
Cost savings and increased road safety
Regularly attending to minor road damage not only improves safety, but is up to 3x cheaper than waiting to carry out major repairs.
Sacyr InRoad was developed in conjunction with the Instituto Tecnológico de Castilla y León to boost service quality and fulfil Sacyr’s commitment to the environment and safety for both users and workers.
Through artificial intelligence and other innovative technologies, the use of InRoad helps prevent accidents and reduce CO₂ emissions.
According to a report by the Spanish Roadway Association (Asociación Española de la Carretera), a well-maintained system of roads could cut CO₂ emissions from lightweight and heavy vehicles by 9% and 6%, respectively. Moreover, flat surfaces with sufficient rolling capacity reduce fuel consumption by 3%-6%.
According to data from the Highway Safety Department of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Fiscalía de Seguridad Vial del Ministerio Fiscal), 30% of traffic accidents occur as a result of poor road conditions.
This project is the successful consequence of the synergies derived from the various divisions that make up Sacyr, with the ultimate goal of circulating these devices worldwide to improve road conditions on an ongoing basis.
