Yerevan authorities use AI to collect data on potholes, mayor says

Yerevan’s city authorities are using artificial intelligence to collect data on potholes and other urban issues via cameras installed on public buses, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan has said.

Speaking at a municipal meeting on Monday, Avinyan said the system can identify road defects without human involvement or reliance on the Active Citizen mobile app.

Officials also presented an upgraded unified GIS platform that uses AI to gather and analyses geospatial data across the capital.

The mayor said the city plans to acquire a vehicle equipped with LiDAR technology next year. It will survey all streets to record the condition of asphalt, accumulated waste, illegal advertising and other issues programmed into the system.

Avinyan suggested that automated detection could reduce the need for physical inspections and may require changes to the legal framework. In many cases, he said violations recorded by automated systems could be sent directly to businesses as official notifications, limiting human discretion and the risk of informal arrangements.

He instructed all municipal departments to appoint specialists by the end of the year to manage their sections of the new geospatial information portal.