Automation and Robotics for Road Construction and Maintenance

With rising road construction and maintenance costs and the lack of productivity improvement, automated road construction and maintenance equipment will provide an attractive alternative for the execution of routine work tasks in the future. This paper reviews the typical tasks applicable to this domain, as well as existing and future automated equipment for task execution. The distinction between numerically controlled (NC) machines and autonomous equipment is discussed based on task requirements and machine capabilities. Core technologies for automated equipment are reviewed. Examples of existing numerically controlled equipment are presented. Economic feasibility issues and work safety aspects of automated road construction and maintenance equipment are outlined. The paper concludes that road construction and maintenance tasks have a significant potential for gradual automation due to the repetitiveness and relatively moderate sensory requirements of many tasks. Ultimately, integrated, multitask systems should be feasible once single-purpose automated equipment proves successful.