A robot developed by Robotiz3d at the University of Liverpool can repair cracks and prevent larger potholes, potentially saving millions of USD in road repair costs each year.
Operation of the ARRES PREVENT road repair robot. (Image: Robotiz3d)
The world’s first road repair robot will soon be on the streets of Hertfordshire, England, within a few months for testing automated repair technology, as reported by Mail on January 11. The robot named ARRES PREVENT (Autonomous Road Repair System) uses artificial intelligence to automatically detect, classify, and fill cracks. If successful in testing, the robot could proactively identify and patch cracks before they become too large to handle quickly. This could make road maintenance cheaper, more efficient, and faster compared to human labor.
ARRES PREVENT is a collaborative product between Robotiz3d and experts at the University of Liverpool along with the Hertfordshire County Council’s highway engineers. Robotiz3d itself is a technology company of the University of Liverpool, funded by the university’s business investment fund.
Developed since 2020, this robot is currently the only automated road repair vehicle in the world. Although still in preliminary testing, it is set to operate on real roads by the end of this year. The robot will be deployed to autonomously seek out and repair damage on the streets of Hertfordshire.
A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council stated that the robot will support their current workforce. “Our intention is to use AI robots alongside humans rather than replacing them. It will autonomously seek out and patch cracks in the road while the technician team works on other tasks, helping to prevent larger potholes in the future while minimizing disruption to public transport,” the spokesperson shared.
This robot is currently the only automated road repair vehicle in the world.
The robot operates by patrolling roads and scanning surfaces with cameras. Using AI, it can detect depressions in the road surface and classify them as potholes or cracks. After identifying surface damage, it will decide whether to repair it immediately or add it to a follow-up inspection list. If it decides to proceed with repairs, it will spray filling material into the crack to prevent water from causing further damage. Although the robot cannot fill large potholes, Robotiz3d states that their goal is to prevent these potholes from forming in the first place.
Potholes form from small cracks in the road surface due to aging, bad weather, or other forms of erosion. When cracks appear, water seeps in and causes them to widen. In winter, water freezes into ice and expands, further enlarging the cracks. Many asphalt chunks are then churned up by passing vehicles.
Due to the cold and wet weather conditions in England, rainwater easily flows into potholes, causing them to become deeper until they are large enough to damage vehicles. Repairing potholes can become extremely costly. Recently, the UK government allocated $3.6 billion for road repairs in the eastern, southeastern, southwestern regions, and London alone. Robotiz3d estimates that drivers in the UK pay around $2.2 in pothole-related costs each year.
According to Robotiz3d, their automated solution is over 90% cheaper than using human labor, potentially saving millions of USD over the years. The average time to repair a pothole is 15 months in the UK. Since the robot does not require breaks, it can work full-time to continuously monitor and repair damage to the road surface. By transitioning to robots, Robotiz3d estimates it can carry out repairs 70% faster than humans.
