Utah High School Student Develops AI-Powered Pothole Detection App
Ivan Turan, a 17-year-old living in Salt Lake City, has created an iOS app that detects road defects in real time using smartphones.
Ivan Turan, a 17-year-old high school senior living in Utah, has developed a mobile app called Pothole AI that detects potholes on roads in real time using artificial intelligence technology, and the app has begun being reviewed by transportation units.
How the App Works
The iOS app called Pothole AI continues to perform live detection when drivers place their cell phones in a dashboard mount.
When the system detects a pothole, it records location information and takes an instantaneous photo of the road damage to log it.
The Origin Story of the Project
Ivan Turan, a 17-year-old West High School student, stated that this idea was born out of inspiration from severe road damage he saw during a family vacation in India.
Turan took action after learning during a conversation with his neighbor that a distant relative had lost their life in a motorcycle accident caused by a pothole on the road.
Artificial Intelligence and Infrastructure Solutions
The young developer, who is interested in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and superintelligence, began researching how these technologies could produce solutions to infrastructure problems.
Teaching himself how artificial intelligence technology works, Turan acquired the skills necessary to turn the Pothole AI app into reality.
Interest from Official Institutions
While the app has been made available to the public via Apple, it achieved significant success by ranking among the 10 finalists from Utah at the 2026 National STEM Festival.
Ivan Turan presented his app to the technology and infrastructure teams of the Utah Department of Transportation on September 24, and the agency has begun testing the project.
Evaluation by the Department of Transportation
John Gleason, public relations director for the Utah Department of Transportation, stated that they are open to all kinds of innovation in line with their zero fatalities goals to prevent road accidents.
Gleason emphasized that it is extremely impressive for a young person to take such a step on their own accord, starting from a tragedy, and contribute to public safety.
Future Goals and New Projects
Ivan Turan is holding discussions to establish an automated system that transmits road damage information and repair requests directly to the department without requiring drivers to manually enter data.
The young developer believes that monitoring road infrastructure is just a small beginning of the problems they can solve, and aims to continue producing similar technological solutions.