Real images of potholes submitted by users of Project Sadak – credit, Parth, provided to Better India
A 15-year-old in the Indian capital of New Delhi created an AI-powered app that allows citizens to report potholes, grade their severity, and instantly report them to the authorities.
What’s more, the AI gives the citizen the power to overcome bureaucratic paralysis and inaction by instantly drafting emails and letters to relevant authorities—no need to look for extension numbers or email addresses.
Called Project Sadak, it was designed by a young man named Parth whose parents got into an accident on a pothole in New Delhi at night on their motorcycle while riding back from celebrating a family occasion in nearby Agra.
Already interested in science and technology and armed with that harrowing experiencing, Parth decided to try and create something that would improve road conditions in the world’s most-populous country.
“The platform was built by me from scratch,” he told The Better India. “Initially, yes, I started writing code, but as the complexity began to rise, I had to make use of AI.”
The app allows users to take a picture of a pothole, use a GPS function to locate it in their area, and post them both to the Project Sadak server. AI makes sure the picture is of an actual pothole, while human review ensures that the given grade—severe, medium, or benign, accurately reflects what’s in the picture.
This ensures the worst potholes flash red and are not drowned out amid the complaints of angry citizens. Once the entry is finished, the user can automatically sign their name digitally to an email and send it to the authorities in their part of New Delhi.
Project Sadak report screen – credit, Parth, provided to Better India
“Initially, we were emailing the parties manually,” Parth admits, “but now the platform automatically writes an email and submits the report.”
So far, 360 potholes have been reported, and 11 have been repaired—albeit almost all by Parth himself, utilizing contractors through his father’s construction business.
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He blamed government corruption and diffusion of responsibility for why he himself had to take care of the problem, however one pothole was reported in Bengaluru, and even though the AI couldn’t find the contact information for the authorities, it was fixed.
Further improvements envisioned by Parth include full AI automation from photo to email, and a WhatsApp chatbot that will allow people to use Project Sadak without downloading an app.
Additionally, the app lacks a monitoring system for whether potholes already reported are eventually repaired.
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