New software combined with high-resolution photography from Yotta DCL is changing the face of highway asset data collection

Yotta DCL calls this breakthrough Nano and it enables rapid, safe, accurate and cost-effective asset surveys. Whereas traditional asset collection is performed on foot at a rate of about 2km a day, using its unique digital technology Yotta DCL can survey up to 200km a day. The added advantage is that Nano completely automates the asset capture process and is free of human error.

With Central Government driving local authorities to manage highway assets better, Nano enables them to quickly create accurate inventories, mapping asset locations and their condition precisely. This street-level view then provides local authorities with a head start for developing incremental maintenance and replacement schemes. This in turn allows local authorities to manage emergency maintenance better, freeing their crews from non-urgent works. In addition the data can be input directly to Pavement Management Systems and Geographic Information Systems without the need for manual entry of new information.

The Yotta DCL survey team use a specially designed and developed vehicle equipped with six high-resolution cameras that provide a full 360-degree street-level view of the highway. The cameras take a photograph every two metres as the vehicle drives along, with the precise position of the vehicle recorded by a high end GPS Inertial tracking system. These photographs are processed, evaluated and analysed pixel-by-pixel by the Nano software to give a highly accurate view of each inventory item captured on the journey.

With its unique service, Yotta DCL has removed the element of human inaccuracy, sped up the survey process by 100 times as a whole and reduced the cost of asset collection. Furthermore, the survey is repeatable. 

“Yotta DCL has made a huge leap forward for asset collection surveys. By taking our market-leading technology and combining it with our deep experience of highway surveying we are able to offer a unique solution that helps local authorities to quickly gain a clear, reliable and accurate view of their highway assets. The digital street-level view of the highway we are able to provide is making it much easier for highways departments to manage their assets. We are already working with several satisfied customers who are benefiting from Nano and many other local authorities are showing great interest in working with us,” says David Lowe, Managing Director, Yotta DCL.