SoftBank has formed a venture with two other Japanese companies to support road maintenance programs within United States by using connected car data.
The new venture- i-Probe, is co-owned by SoftBank, Japanese construction services company Pacific Consultants (PCKK), and engineering services company Oriental Consultants Global (OCG).
i-Probe analyzes ‘big data’ obtained from sensors on connected cars, which are expected to substantially increase in the future, and then maps the data to reveal real-time road conditions by location. It will provide this data to public agencies responsible for road maintenance, including state transportation departments and municipalities. i-Probe has entered into partnership agreements with local governments across the country. Based on these agreements, those local governments will be able to jointly conduct field tests in the near future.
