Real-Time Pothole Detection and Driver Alert Mechanism

Authors

  • Vaishnavi Namdev Bhorpe Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Sinhgad College of Engineering Pune, India
  • Anushka Netaji Thonge Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Sinhgad College of Engineering Pune, India
  • Shruti Baliram Kadam Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Sinhgad College of Engineering Pune, India
  • Supriya O Rajankar Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Sinhgad College of Engineering Pune, India

Keywords:

Raspberry-pi Microcontroller, Pothole Detection, Road Safety, GSM Module, LED Indication, Buzzer

Abstract

Road safety is a major concern in both urban and rural areas due to poor road conditions and the presence of potholes, which often lead to accidents, vehicle damage, and traffic congestion. To address this issue, this project presents a real-time pothole detection and driver alert mechanism designed to identify potholes before a vehicle passes over them and to alert the driver in advance. The system is developed using a Raspberry Pi microcontroller, integrated with a camera module to measure the depth and size of potholes accurately using OpenCV. A camera module captures road images for validation, while GPS and GSM modules record and transmit the pothole location to a cloud or mobile device. The proposed system dynamically adjusts its sensing range according to the vehicle’s speed—detecting potholes earlier when the vehicle is moving fast to give the driver sufficient reaction time. Once a pothole is detected, the driver is immediately alerted through a buzzer or LED indication, helping prevent sudden impacts. The collected data can also be used by municipal authorities for road maintenance planning. This low-cost, real-time, and scalable system enhances driver safety and contributes to the development of smart transportation infrastructure. It can be implemented in bikes, cars, and other vehicles, making it a practical and socially impactful solution for modern smart cities.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2582.5607.202605

How to cite this article:
Bhorpe V N, Thonge A N, Shruti, Kadam B, Rajankar S O. Real-Time Pothole Detection and Driver Alert Mechanism. J Engr Desg Anal 2026; 9(2): 1-5.

References

Desai D, Soni A, Panchal D, Gajjar S. Design, development and testing of automatic pothole detection and alert system. In2019 IEEE 16th India council international conference (INDICON) 2019 Dec 13 (pp. 1-4). IEEE.

Sable S, Shivane B, Shivakumar V, Todkar A, Kadam S, Singh P, Tonape S. Pothole detection using an accelerometer and image processing. In2023 2nd International Conference on Ambient Intelligence in Health Care (ICAIHC) 2023 Nov 17 (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Published

2026-06-17

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2026): Journal of Engineering Design and Analysis

Section

Research Article

Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Engineering Design and Analysis

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

We, the undersigned, give an undertaking to the following effect with regard to our article entitled
“_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________” submitted for publication in (Journal title)________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________Vol.________, Year _________:-

1. The article mentioned above has not been published or submitted to or accepted for publication in any form, in any other journal.

2. We also vouchsafe that the authorship of this article will not be contested by anyone whose name(s) is/are not listed by us here.

3. I/We declare that I/We contributed significantly towards the research study i.e., (a) conception, design and/or analysis and interpretation of data and to (b) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and on (c) final approval of the version to be published.

4. I/We hereby acknowledge ADRs conflict of interest policy requirement to scrupulously avoid direct and indirect conflicts of interest and, accordingly, hereby agree to promptly inform the editor or editor's designee of any business, commercial, or other proprietary support, relationships, or interests that I/We may have which relate directly or indirectly to the subject of the work.

5. I/We also agree to the authorship of the article in the following sequence:-

Authors' Names (in sequence) Signature of Authors
1. _____________________________________ _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________ _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________ _____________________________________
4. _____________________________________ _____________________________________
5. _____________________________________ _____________________________________
6. _____________________________________ _____________________________________
7. _____________________________________ _____________________________________
8. _____________________________________ _____________________________________

Important

(I). All the authors are required to sign independently in this form in the sequence given above. In case an author has left the institution/ country and whose whereabouts are not known, the senior author may sign on his/ her behalf taking the responsibility.

(ii). No addition/ deletion/ or any change in the sequence of the authorship will be permissible at a later stage, without valid reasons and permission of the Editor.

(iii). If the authorship is contested at any stage, the article will be either returned or will not be
processed for publication till the issue is solved.