Eurovia trials robo-cars to ferry tools to highways sites

Aaron Morby 5 years ago
Share

Roads maintenance specialist Eurovia has struck a deal with a self-driving car developer to trial delivery of small plant, tools and materials to highways sites.

Kar-go autonomous delivery vehicle
Kar-go autonomous delivery vehicle

The driverless electric delivery vehicles will also survey the road surface as they go feeding data into a central system to map the conditions of highways.

Surrey-based Academy of Robotics has developed Kar-go, which is Europe’s first road-based autonomous delivery vehicle.

Originally developed to dramatically reduce both the financial and environmental costs of last-mile parcel delivery, Eurovia UK recognised its potential for use in infrastructure and urban development work.

Kar-go’s operating system is able to understand the difference between features such as cracks, puddles, potholes and shadows.

Eurovia UK will in turn help Academy of Robotics to scale its training of autonomous vehicles by giving it access to digital camera data gathered by Eurovia’s fleet, which covers over 50,000 kms of roads.

Scott Wardrop, Chief Executive of Eurovia UK said: We have reviewed a number of autonomous vehicle solutions, but a critical component for us in developing this partnership was the technology’s ability to manage the complexity of recognising different road surfaces and their absolute commitment to sustainable innovation.”

William Sachiti, CEO and Co-Founder of Academy of Robotics said: “To date, most autonomous vehicle training and testing has taken place on well-marked roads or specially designated test centres, but these areas rarely reflect real-world conditions.

“This partnership and the access to the vast dataset of different road conditions it provides, together with the increased investment we have coming from our latest funding round will ensure we can test and train our technology on UK roads at an unparalleled scale and pace,” added Sachiti.

Latest news

Go-ahead for City of London’s tallest tower

1 Undershaft building will equal the Shard in height
2 days ago

Construction T Level scrapped due to lack of demand

Courses canned after less than 100 sign-up for latest round
3 days ago

Five firms clinch £300m Greenwich Uni framework deal

McLaren, Wates, Morgan Sindall, Vinci and Willmott Dixon secure places
2 days ago

Hill Group strikes first Build to Rent deal

House builder agrees finance with Lloyds Living to start Stevenage scheme
2 days ago

Construction output hit by fall in repair and maintenance

Industrial and commercial new work grows despite wider fall in activity
2 days ago

Wates transfers pension scheme to “superfund”

Pension management specialist Clara to take charge of £210m fund
2 days ago

Muse hires new development director for North West

Tom Darby joins from developer Bruntwood
2 days ago

Bid rigging probe launched into school repair work

Firms raided this week with focus on roofing contracts
4 days ago

McLaren hires ex-ISG regional boss for north east expansion

Andrew Beaumont becomes MD of new Yorkshire and North East business
3 days ago

Government commits to four new prisons in seven years

£2.3bn pledged for new prison build programme
4 days ago

Road and rail delays hit revenue at Van Elle

Turnover drops 5% as markets remain challenging for piling specialist
3 days ago

Boot reports ‘noticeable improvement’ in planning system

Government planning reforms already unblocking council planning
3 days ago

Go-ahead to revamp former London city hall

Project will straighten the building's leaning profile with terraces to every level
3 days ago

United Living to divert Midlands gas pipeline

600m pipeline diversion clears way for M54 to M6 link road construction
3 days ago

Credit insurance saves Billington from ISG hit

Steel specialist puts on extra shifts at its plants to cope with demand
4 days ago

M&E specialist Dodd doubles profit on retrofit surge

Family-owned Telford specialist delivers record revenue of nearly £250m
4 days ago

Go-ahead for 800-home Croydon dual towers

One Lansdowne Road build to rent scheme to cost £260m to build
4 days ago

Construction inflation set to return raising tender prices

End of 2024 to mark the bottom of present inflationary trough
4 days ago

Start date for vast Balfour and Costain carbon capture power job

£4bn Teesside project to start construction next year creating 3,000 jobs
5 days ago

Plans go in to start revamp of North Finchley town centre

Developer Regal unveils first details of Barnet masterplan
4 days ago

Glencar bags £18m Big Yellow London store

Six-storey stoarage centre to be built at Staples Corner
4 days ago

Plan unveiled for 31-storey London Fenchurch Street tower

Demolition work to start in 2026 for new office tower
5 days ago

Vinci Building buys tower cranes for first time

Contractor invests in two WOLFFKRAN all-electric cranes at £138m Sheffield site
5 days ago

30 local firms land United Utilities £500m framework

Minor works deal win for North West civils and M&E specialists
5 days ago

Restructure pays off as Higgins returns to profit

Housing contractor recovers from £25.9m loss last year
5 days ago

Former Heathrow boss joins Mace in board rejig

Firm completes string NED appointments to expanded group board
6 days ago

Planning officers to get powers to bypass committee stage for housing

Rayner reform plan to cut out local council planning committees
6 days ago

National Insurance hike to delay construction recovery

Arcadis paints varied picture with full recovery delayed until 2026
6 days ago

Gratte Bros rides out cost rises with profit increase

M&E specialist warns of further upward pressure on wage costs
6 days ago

Sellar’s 36-storey London City office tower approved

Demolition work to start in 2026 at 60 Gracechurch Street site
1 week ago

Contractor services