New AI application will leverage Google imagery for faster roadway inspections and damage assessment.
Infrastructure engineering software company Bentley Systems, Inc., based in Exton, Pa., has developed new asset analytics capabilities that apply AI to crowdsourced imagery for automated roadway asset detection and inspection.
“The collaboration between Bentley’s Blyncsy offering and Google’s expansive mapping and imagery databases has the ability to disrupt the tedious process of monitoring infrastructure conditions and damage assessments [after] a natural disaster,” says James Lee, chief operating officer for Bentley Systems. “Together, we can help infrastructure professionals better forecast maintenance needs long before they escalate into costly or hazardous safety problems, and respond intelligently and instantly to crises—all through the use of AI-generated insights pulled from constantly updated datasets and historical records of infrastructure.”
Unveiled at Google Cloud Next 2025, the new capabilities in Bentley’s Blyncsy software leverages Imagery Insights from the Google Maps Platform to rapidly detect and analyze roadway conditions.
Acquired by Bentley in August 2023, Blyncsy applies computer vision and artificial intelligence to analyze commonly available imagery to identify maintenance issues on roadway networks.
Bentley and Google partnered up in October 2024 to integrate Google’s high-quality geospatial content with Bentley’s infrastructure engineering software to improve the way infrastructure is designed, built, and operated.
“We have a history of leadership in applying repurposed imagery for roadway maintenance, and the addition of Google’s 360-degree imagery and AI will further enhance the value Bentley provides to transportation departments and engineering firms globally,” said Mark Pittman, director of transportation AI at Bentley. “The expansion of our relationship with Google will enable us to further develop our growing infrastructure asset analytics capabilities—initially in the transportation sector with other industries to follow.”
The combination of Imagery Insights from Google Street View, Vertex AI, and Blyncsy will make it easier for departments of transportation—and the engineering firms and consultants supporting them—to identify areas of concern and analyze changes in the condition of roadway and transportation assets over time.
“As our strategic partner, Bentley combines industry-leading infrastructure solutions with Google’s leading AI and mapping technologies, like Vertex AI and Street View, to bring powerful analytics to public and private sector leaders who need mobility insights for making more informed decisions,” said Yael Maguire, Google’s vice president and general manager for Google Maps Platform and Google Earth.
Google Street View’s global panoramic imagery gives Bentley highly detailed analysis of assets, along with visual references. Google’s Vertex AI builds and maintains models to alert transportation agencies of changes to infrastructure assets before they become safety hazards. In addition to supporting roadway maintenance activities, these capabilities can also aid in disaster recovery efforts, providing a cost-effective solution for conducting rapid damage assessments, which can help rebuild faster.
Bentley says Google’s Imagery Insights “will be generally available in Blyncsy in 2025.”
