Benefit from reliable information about surface events in your road network in order to detect damages and abnormal conditions to react in a more targeted manner.
The earlier you detect emerging problems in the road infrastructure, the faster you can take the right measures – for greater safety and more economical maintenance.
Mercedes-Benz Data supports the maintenance of the road network by identifying problems and damage to the road surface based on data from the Mercedes-Benz vehicle fleet. This early detection of potholes and other surface events via vehicle sensors gives road authorities, cities and municipalities the opportunity to increase the efficiency of maintenance work and improve road safety.
Currently, cities or road authorities evaluate roads every 4 to 5 years using a high-resolution measurement vehicle provided by engineering firms, for example. Between these measurements, on-site visits are carried out, which can hardly cover the entire road network completely.
Our "Surface Events" solution provides a more precise approach to bridge the long gap between high-resolution vehicle measurements. It is thus a valuable data-based complement to the measurements of the specialized vehicles.
In doing so, our data product can determine not only where events are present, but also their intensity and evolution over time. This information is valuable for authorities to plan ahead and prioritize the deployment of maintenance resources.
Optimize your road quality-related use cases by incorporating near real-time information on potholes and other road damage or surface events generated by the Mercedes-Benz vehicle fleet.
Whether cities and municipalities, road authorities or road maintenance departments: The Surface Events API dataset is the perfect complement to data from dedicated measurement vehicles to compensate for the "data-less" time between measurements. The following data points are available:
Surface damage events
Surface damage intensity (0% to 100%)
GPS position
Heading (in compass direction)
Time stamp on day level
Confidence level (0% to 100%)
The Surface Events dataset provides our customers with accurate insights into the localization, intensity and development of surface events on a local level. This means that data from special measurement vehicles can be optimally supplemented by the Mercedes-Benz vehicle fleet in order to have an accurate picture of road quality even between regular measurements.
The transmitted data is relevant for evaluations & analyses of the most local road conditions in terms of potholes and surface damage. In this context, the connected Mercedes-Benz vehicle fleet provides an excellent basis for covering many regions worldwide.
Data is always transferred anonymized and only from vehicles for which there is a consent from the vehicle owner.
Information on the condition of the road surface is collected anonymously via various sensors in the Mercedes-Benz vehicle fleet. Surface Events collects this multitude of road surface information and makes the data available via a pull API at GPS level.
We determine reliable information on surface damage such as potholes, scratches and manhole covers using a three-step approach.
For the specific use case of surface damage in a particular region or area of interest, we trigger data collection from our Mercedes-Benz customer vehicle fleet through a campaign. We collect only the specific data needed and only if the drivers have given their consent to provide the data. The data is then continuously sent from our customer fleet to the Mercedes-Benz Cloud for the defined period. Various data points from high-quality sensors are collected such as vehicle type, damper level, wheel spin and steering wheel angle.
In the Mercedes-Benz backend, the algorithm calculates the average intensity of road surface events. Based on multiple passes with additional vehicles, higher accuracy of the calculated surface event is achieved. Detection can be performed simultaneously over the entire range of data collected. We generate highly accurate data based on GPS position, vehicle direction (compass direction), and distance to lane markings. However, we "obfuscate" the time stamp to a certain extent to make it impossible to track a single person for privacy reasons.
We then provide on the Mercedes-Benz Data Dashboard and via API the aggregated and accurate GPS position and heading of the event cluster, the number of individual events per cluster, the time span of the clustered events, and the intensity of the detected surface event.
Mercedes-Benz was commissioned by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (Min I&W) to analyze the condition of the local roads and transport infrastructure through data from the Mercedes-Benz vehicle fleet. The so-called 'Road Monitor' program (ROMO) covers all provinces of the Netherlands with a road network of more than 130,000 kilometers.
In road condition analysis, Mercedes-Benz enables predictive maintenance and repair of the road infrastructure, setting new standards. The early detection of potholes and other surface damage increases the efficiency of maintenance work and optimizes safety.
Mark Harbers,
Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management, Netherlands
Here you can find a collection of questions we’ve been asked by our customers.
Yes, it is possible to get sample data for every data product. Please get in touch with our business team to get the sample data.
All data is coming from the Mercedes-Benz customer fleet (Passenger Car and Van). Data will be provided if the purpose of the data usage fits with the Mercedes-Benz Data Vision to create with data a greater good.
Yes, we can provide the data products for several countries. Please check out the product detail page on Mercedes-Benz /developers to get an overview about the data coverage per country for this product.
Due to antitrust law and data protection, we cannot share exact figures of vehicles driving around. We could offer you to check the numbers of data points in a defined period.
Our goal as Mercedes-Benz Data is to pave the way for a data-driven automotive world. Always with the focus on providing our customers the greatest added value through new, personalized services. That’s why we work together with selected partners always under protection of the customer rights.
If you’re considering using our data product or just want more information, please leave your contact details. We will get back to you as soon as possible.