‘Tis the season for potholes. When temperatures drop, the expansion and contraction of water that seeps into cracks in asphalt can create giant tire-chompers. But these problem spots are too often the final result of damage that has been brewing for a while.

“There are things you can do five or even ten years before that happens to push the lifespan of a road,” says Benjamin Schmidt, CTO of RoadBotics in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

RoadBotics is using state-of-the-art computer vision techniques to help local governments better manage roads. The company’s machine-learning algorithms process images of the road collected via smartphone. Then, it uses these images to produce an in-depth online map of road conditions that officials can use to make maintenance and repair decisions.