The US study by Dr. Thomas Matarazzo comes after 143 people were killed last Sunday when a pedestrian bridge in the Indian state of Gujarat collapsed.
Data collected on Uber drivers' smartphones could help monitor bridges and prevent them from collapsing, a new study suggests. According to the research, the collection of GPS location and acceleration data from drivers, both of which are automatically logged by travel-sharing apps like Uber, provides structural engineers with key information about a bridge's health.
It would give them near-constant, real-time monitoring of the strength of a bridge and potentially reduce the number of fatal collapses. The study, led by Dr. Thomas Matarazzo, associate director of the US military's Center for Engineering Innovation, comes after 143 people were killed on Sunday when a footbridge collapsed in the Indian state of Gujarat.
The 70-meter bridge was recently refurbished and only reopened to the public the week before. It gave in because it couldn't handle the number of people in it, officials told Press Trust India at the time.
Other recent large-scale bridge collapses include a metro bridge in Mexico City in May 2021 that killed 26 people and the Ponte Morandi disaster in Genoa, Italy in August 2018, which resulted in 43 deaths. Dr. Matarazzo's study saw researchers cross San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge 102 times using iPhone 5s and 6s to record their movements.
The data was then collected from 72 trips on the Uber bridge as the drivers went about their daily activities. Bridge inspections are usually done with the naked eye, not with data
But using rideshare data, which can be collected every day, allows structural engineers to accurately measure the low-grade vertical vibrations and twists that bridges experience throughout their lives, the researchers say.
They added that with 50% of people using smartphones globally, this could be a free and easy way to ensure the safety of the bridge. And despite the small dataset, the authors say the results were largely accurate.
There have been some privacy concerns surrounding driver data, with experts fearing that tech companies may not respect the rights of their employees. However, some drivers have expressed support for the program, saying they are happy to help prevent life-threatening disasters.