World’s first pothole ROBOT hits the road in Hertfordshire: Futuristic bot uses AI to detect depressions and fill them automatically – and can make repairs 70% faster than humans
Potholes are a constant and often expensive threat on Britain’s roads, but perhaps not for much longer.
The first pothole robot will hit the streets of Hertfordshire in the coming months to test its autonomous repair technology.
The robot, called ARRES (Autonomous Road Repair System) PREVENT, uses AI to automatically detect, categorize and fill cracks.
Should the test be successful, the robot can catch and repair cracks before they become too large to repair quickly.
This could make roadworks cheaper, more efficient and faster compared to human workers.
The first autonomous pothole robot will hit the streets of Hertfordshire in the coming months
Although the autonomous repair robot is currently in the laboratory testing phase, it will soon be used to patrol a residential street
ARRES PREVENT is the product of a collaboration between technology company Robotiz3d and academics from the University of Liverpool in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council [HCC] Road engineers.
Robotiz3d is itself a spin-out from the University of Liverpool and was founded with investment from the university’s Enterprise Investment Fund.
The robot started development in 2020 and is currently the only autonomous road repair vehicle in the world.
Although the robot is currently only in a preliminary testing phase, it will be tested on real roads later this year.
The robot will be unleashed to detect and repair damage to a residential road somewhere in Hertfordshire.
A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council told MailOnline that the robots will complement the council’s current human teams.
The spokesperson said: ‘The intention is to use the AI robot alongside our human crews rather than replacing them.
The ARRES (Autonomous Road Repair System) PREVENT uses AI to detect potholes in the road surface and decide whether to make an immediate repair or report the damage to return later
The robot can fill cracks in the road before they become holes in the road surface, saving municipalities a lot of time and money
‘It will autonomously find and close cracks in the road while our team continues with other work, allowing us to do more work in one series of works to prevent future potholes while reducing disruption to the public.’
The robot works by autonomously patrolling the roads and scanning the surface with cameras.
Using AI, the robot can detect depressions in the road surface and categorize them as potholes or cracks.
Once the robot has identified a surface imperfection, it will decide whether to repair it right away or add the damage to a list for later inspection.
If the robot decides to make the repair, it injects filler material into the crack to keep out water that could cause more damage.
While the robot can’t fill larger potholes, Robotiz3d says the goal is to prevent these potholes from forming in the first place.
Potholes occur due to small cracks in the road surface due to age, bad weather or other routine forms of wear and tear.
Once the crack forms, water seeps in and begins to widen.
In winter, the water freezes into ice and expands, causing the hole to crack open further.
Robotiz3d, which makes the robot, says its robots could one day patrol the streets of Britain day and night to prevent potholes from forming in the first place
Last year the government set aside £2.8 billion to repair potholes in the East of England, the South East, the South West and London (stock image)
Chunks of asphalt are then continuously knocked away by passing vehicles.
Due to the wet and cold weather conditions of the British water ponds, where rainwater floods the hole, the hole deepens until it is large enough to damage passing cars.
And while it may seem like overkill to deploy a robot army to address a few cracks in the road, potholes can become extremely expensive.
Recently, the UK government allocated £2.8 billion to road repairs in the East of England, the South East, the South West and London.
Hertfordshire County Council received £3.9 million in November for potholes and resurfacing over the next 11 years, on top of a further £87.8 million.
According to Robotiz3d, the autonomous solution will be 90 percent cheaper than using humans, which could save municipalities millions over the years.
The council said: ‘It is too early to say how much money this could save us; at this stage we are helping Robotiz3d develop breakthrough technology, but we believe the future benefits of this work have the potential to be enormous.”
From tire and suspension damage to accidents caused by drivers who swerve to avoid these roadside craters, potholes can lead to expensive damage. Robotiz3d estimates that motorists in Britain pay £1.7 billion in pothole-related costs every year.
This isn’t helped by the fact that the average time it takes to repair a pothole in Britain is 15 months.
Because the robots do not need to sleep or rest, they can work full-time to continuously monitor and repair road damage.
By switching to robotic services, the company estimates it can complete repairs 70 percent faster than humans.