Autonomous pothole-repairing robots will hit Britain's streets by 2021

Scientists are building autonomous repair robots that will use AI to identify and fix potholes in UK roads. The electric, self-driving bots – which are being built by a spin-out company from the University of Liverpool called Robotiz3d – can find small cracks in the road and cover them with asphalt. Researchers say the machines, which look like a cross between a tank and a road roller, will transform road maintenance when they hit the roads in 2021, and finally offer a cost effective fix for the UK's pothole problem. Currently, no autonomous technology solutions exist to tackle potholes, which are estimated to have cost UK taxpayers more than £1 billion to fix over the last decade. Artist's impression of the autonomous road repair system, which looks part-tank, part road roller.