An army of mini-robots will find and repair cracked pipes beneath busy streets
Workers digging up roads could soon be a thing of the past, as the Government is funding development of machines to fix underground pipes
MINI-ROBOTS will be used to mend pipes under roads — preventing traffic chaos caused by digging up streets.
Four universities are sharing £26.6million of Government cash to create 1cm devices to find and fix cracks in underground pipes.
Disruption due to traffic closures for workers to do these repairs are estimated to cost businesses around £5billion a year.
Science Minister Chris Skidmore said the robots will help make the “dream of a world without roadworks” a reality.
He added: “From deploying robots in our pipe network to using robots in workplaces to keep people safer, this new technology could change the world for the better.”
Fourteen other Government-backed projects will see robots used in hazardous environments such as offshore wind farms and decommissioning old nuclear reactors.
The Sun Says
ALL hail the robots…
It’s a testament to British ingenuity that roadworks could be a thing of the past, with machines working underground to keep us moving.
It certainly beats the cones hotline.
New artificial intelligence technologies such as software in orbiting satellites and drones for oil piping will be used to detect when repairs are needed.
The machines will include flying robots and ones to work underwater.
Mr Skidmore said: “We have put research and development at the heart of our modern industrial strategy, with the biggest boost to funding in UK history.”
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