CINCINNATI — Cincinnati has turned to local innovators to find ways to handle potholes across city streets.
To encourage new ideas, local leaders organized a competition with a $5,000 prize.
The "Shark Tank-style" competition was announced in August by Cincinnati Council Member Evan Nolan, alongside partners with Flywheel Innovation Labs and Tire Discounters.
Flywheel described the prize for the winner as "a $5,000 grant to further develop their solution, with continued support from Flywheel and the potential to engage in future pilot opportunities with the city of Cincinnati."
During the "Demo Day" at the University of Cincinnati's 1819 Innovation Hub, pitches included the use of artificial intelligence, cameras, drones and cellphone apps.
The winner of Wednesday's competition was Cincinnati resident Nate Weyand-Geise.
Watch: Weynad-Geise talks about his solution and how he plans to move forward
His idea stemmed from pulling data from your phone's accelerometer, which tracks steps and distance, tracking vibrations when someone drives over a pothole.
"You get all sorts of data, not just the big ones that people hit, but all the little, small vibrations that could be ripe for repairs. And then, on major routes, where there are heavy buses, you're getting a lot of use, a lot of heavy impacts from those vehicles," Weyand-Geise said.
The idea is to integrate that data with apps people in Cincinnati already use, such as EZFare and 311Cincy.
Weyand-Geise also pitched the idea of incentivizing users with a point system. He said it would "gamify" the digital data collection, to have more people be out looking for potholes that the city could then address or repair.
He made sure to note that anyone involved would have to opt in and allow permission for this kind of data collection. He pitched the idea that these points could be collected and provided by sponsors.
Weyand-Geise explained how he plans to use the grant he received.
"It would be great to use it to help work directly with the city. So, can it buy me a couple of weeks where I can really troubleshoot this idea and get it online? That would really be what this money can be used to, to build the idea," Weyand-Geise said.
The winner said he met with council member Nolan and set up future meetings to see how he can bring his pitch to the Queen City.
