Department of Transportation

HONOLULU – The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) announces a new pilot with i-Probe Inc to test connected automobile hardware and software technologies. On Monday, June 20, 2022, Governor David Ige, Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Director Jade Butay, and Masamichi Watanabe, President and CEO, i-Probe Inc., signed a Memorandum of Understanding allowing HDOT access to i-Probe’s customized inspection vehicle and data through June 23, 2023.

Gov. Ige shared: “This pilot represents an opportunity for our daily drives to feed straight back into a system for improvement. Through the operation of the customized inspection vehicle, HDOT will be able to quickly gather information on the rideability of our roads in a way that was not possible even a couple of years ago.”

“We are very proud of our new partnership with HDOT,” said Masamichi Watanabe, President and CEO, i-Probe Inc. “By testing our technology in real world environments, we hope that very soon our innovation will contribute to reviving road infrastructure for safe and smooth driving in the State of Hawaii and the United States.”

Data collected by i-Probe Inc. can be compared with data already compiled by HDOT to validate transportation related trends, which can be used to plan road maintenance and improvements. The data from the i-Probe customized inspection vehicle is available through a proprietary cloud site including a mobile connection, collection, and analysis of data.

“The i-Probe customized inspection vehicle will make it easy and unobtrusive to collect the rideability data that we report to the Federal Highways Administration,” said Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Director Jade Butay. “We’re looking forward to testing and validating the data and the possibilities for improving the way we maintain state highways this opens up.”

HDOT currently gathers data on existing roadway conditions through biennial survey of state routes using the Laser Crack Measurement System. Validated pavement conditions and other data used to program highways projects is available at https://arcg.is/0XTWX8

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About i-Probe Inc.

Using car mounted sensors, i-Probe Inc. offers the unique capability and deep industry knowledge necessary to help access road conditions.

Road deformities such as potholes are identified by i-Probe Road sensors & transmitted to the cloud in real time allowing partners such as local & state road operators can quickly gain insight into their roads saving significant time and resources.