An autonomous robot designed to detect and fill cracks on roads has passed its first test outside of a laboratory.
Tech company Robotiz3d and University of Liverpool academics developed the autonomous road repair system (ARRES) in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council highways engineers.
The ARRES PREVENT robot, the first of its kind in the world, uses artificial intelligence to characterise defects in the road before filling in cracks to keep out surface water and prevent potholes forming.
Hertfordshire’s executive member for highways, Reena Ranger, said: ‘The test today is another step in the right direction towards solving the pothole problem this country faces.’
Technology and decarbonisation minister Anthony Browne added: ‘This innovative technology has the potential to transform how we perform road maintenance and enhance the driver experience across Hertfordshire and beyond.’
Further trials will take place to ‘refine’ the robot ahead of full production, and a larger version capable of fixing a wider range of defects is also in development.
