Got Potholes?

Three WPI students earned first place honors and a $10,000 prize in the Second Annual SICK Challenge. SICK Inc., named for the late Dr. Erwin Sick, was founded in 1946 in Germany and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of sensors, safety systems, machine vision, encoders, and automatic identification products for industrial applications. The competition challenges students to develop a solution to a problem using SICK Inc. LiDAR technology.

The trio—recently graduated seniors Noah Budris of Oxford, Conn., who majored in mechanical engineering, and Daniel Pelaez, also of Oxford, Conn., who majored in electrical and computer engineering, along with fifth-year senior Noah Parker of Arlington, Mass., who is majoring in computer science and robotics engineering—developed a product dubbed ROADGNAR, which detects, analyzes, and measures potholes, cracks, and other pavement deficiencies that cause roadways to be in poor condition.

With this data, local governments can better prioritize what roads need to be repaired based on their condition. Alex Wyglinski, professor of electrical and computer engineering, who served as faculty advisor for the team, says, “The students drove this effort 100 percent.” The team has filed for and obtained a provisional patent for the technology. In the future, they plan to pursue a utility patent once they have refined the product and acquired further funding.