New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- The government is testing an artificial intelligence system that can identify potholes, cracks and other defects on rural roads from videos recorded on mobile phones, with a nationwide field-validation exercise underway since earlier this month, a senior official said on Sunday.

According to the official, the ministry has given "in-principle approval" for trials of the AI-based road-condition assessment system on roads built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The system is being developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) with the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA).

The technology is only being tested as a tool to support road maintenance decisions, ...