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John Stricklin
Professor Sherrin Frances
English 212
29 March 2015
Big Data in Road Infrastructure and Traffic
Big data, according to Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier, is "the ability of
society to harness information in novel ways to produce useful insights or goods and services of
significant value" (Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier 2). In other words, information collected in
large quantities is analyzed with algorithms to produce numbers that will lead to a solution or
improvement in various aspects of many individuals' lives. The 2009 discovery of the H1N1
virus had public health agencies in fear of being on the brink of a global pandemic. They feared
that it would kill over tens of millions of people and to make matters worse, a vaccine against the
H1N1 virus was not readily available (Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier 1). The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention had asked physicians to inform them of new cases, but the data
was regularly out of date by one to two weeks (Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier 1). Luckily, big
data came to the rescue when engineers at Google published a paper stating that Google could
predict the spread of the flu across the United States (Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier 2). Google
was able to identify where the flu virus had spread and when, in real time, helping the CDC to
pinpoint and solve the issue quickly (Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier 2). The book mentions that
"public health is only one area where big data is making a big difference" (Mayer-Schonberger
and Cukier 3). The invention of the internet has lead us into a revolution of big data as it begins
to affect us directly and indirectly, knowingly and unknowingly. Although there can be many

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positive outcomes, where is the line drawn as to what data can be collected, how it is used, and
who will safeguard it?
As the snow and ice begin to melt as warmer weather approaches in the northern states
across the United States, individuals will have to face an unavoidable issue. Drivers will spend
the spring months "dodging the craters left behind by our brutal winter" (Bray). Poor road
surfaces can often pose a significant safety threat to drivers, passengers, and especially motorists
(Tai, Chan, and Hsu 1). Moreover, poor road conditions can lead to quick deterioration of their
vehicle, lowering its performance, quality, and value. However, maintaining road ways are a
major challenge for governments around the world (Tai, Chan, and Hsu 1). Many governments
have trouble identifying all of the road infrastructure issues, pinpointing the issue, and
prioritizing the importance of which roads to address first. Governments simply do not have the
ability and access to funds to answer all of those questions. However, something is now being
done to solve this ongoing issue.
Currently in states such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, entrepreneurs, engineers, and
investors are searching for new ways to use the predictive power of numbers to help eliminate or
reduce the traffic jams and problems such as potholes (Ovide). A team of engineers at
Northeastern University will go looking for potholes, in a large white van (Bray). The system is
called Versatile Onboard Traffic Embedded Roaming Sensors and also known as VOTERS
(Bray). "Crammed with GPS, radar, digital cameras, and microphones" the van is "equipped to
detect and record every pothole and pavement crack, just by driving down the street" (Bray). In
addition to locating pothole, the van has a "ground-penetrating radar to evaluate the soil
underneath the pavement, a key indicator of future problems" and it can measure "the shape of a
road, detecting dips and divots where water can pool and weaken the road" (Bray). In the article,

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bray mentions that "the Northeastern engineers are pitching the system to municipal
governments as a much faster, more complete system to catalog road conditions and to prioritize
repairs."
The use of big data to in locating potholes will benefit drivers and the government. Shira
Ovide mentions, "While some industries have used big-data methods for years, what's new is the
massive scale of data being generated now thanks to the proliferation of networked gadgets like
mobile phones and the growing power of computers to store and make sense of data quickly and
more cheaply" (Ovide). The use of this new system will greatly benefit governments across the
world. For example, according to statistics from the Ministry of Justice in Taiwan, "the number
of lawsuits brought to national court involving roadway injury compensation numbered about
220 with a total compensation payout of roughly 113 million Taiwan dollars" (Tai, Chan, and
Hsu 1). Additionally, the figure mentioned above only represents those cases in which there was
a request for compensation, which further proves that the actual damage caused by poor quality
road ways is much greater (Tai, Chan, and Hsu 1). Most of all, VOTERS is much faster than
public works inspectors because it can take them month to identify road conditions (Bray).
Meanwhile, VOTERS analyzes data in minutes and generates instant reports. Ming Wang, a
Northeastern University civil engineering professor who is leading the VOTERS project states,
It is intended to revolutionize the whole assessment process" (Bray).
The use of big data here goes beyond search inquiries typed into Google. It takes a team
of individuals to record the data, drive around the city, create algorithms and help the
government apply the allotted budget to high priority areas quickly. The VOTERS team
developed a solution that the government never would have found. This is very similar to the
story in Big Data about Flowers and his team collecting information to help stop illegal

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conversions (Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier 186). Illegal conversions is the practice of cutting
up a house or building into many smaller units so that it many more people can live there
(Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier 186). Flowers and his team "took massive quantities of data that
had been lying around for years, largely unused after it was collected, and harnessed it in a novel
way to extract real value" (Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier 188). Meanwhile, the VOTERS
system being used is harvesting new data. However, both teams are solving impending issues
that no one else had considered. Both groups were being innovative by finding new ways to
apply big data to an issue and get a positive outcome.
The use of big data in the world is only starting to reach its potential. More and more data
is being collected by the second and it can have a profound effect on our lives whether we know
it or not. However, much like the VOTERS system, big data can greatly improve our life in
various ways.

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Works Cited
Bray, Hiawatha. "Northeastern Engineers Go Looking for Potholes." The Boston Globe. 17
March 2015. Web. 22 March 2015.
Mayer-Schonberger, Viktor, and Kenneth Cukier. Big Data: A Revolution that Will Transform
How We Live, Work, and Think. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. Print.
Mednis, A.; Strazdins, G.; Zviedris, R.; Kanonirs, G.; Selavo, L., "Real time pothole detection
using Android smartphones with accelerometers," Distributed Computing in Sensor
Systems and Workshops, 2011 International Conference. June 2011. Web. 22 March
2015.
Ovide, Shira. "Tapping 'Big Data' to Fill Potholes." The Wall Street Journal. 12 June 2012. Web
22 March 2015.
Tai, Yu-chin, Cheng-wei Chan, and Jane Yung-jen Hsu. "Automatic Road Anomaly Detection
Using Smart Mobile Device" Department of Computer Science and Information
Engineering. 2010. Google Scholar. Web. 22 March 2015.

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