It's an ordinary day in the northern German city of Hamburg, where countless cars move along the streets and pedestrians cross at the intersections. This isn't some risky stunt but rather the final tests of technology designed by the European-Union funded L3Pilot project. In it, the researchers developed and tried out electronics for self-driving cars on urban roads and highways. 'It's very important to test automated vehicles under real-world conditions,' said Aria Etemad, who coordinated L3Pilot and is a researcher at German automaker Volkswagen. 'Letting them drive around in artificial environments is not enough.

Transport for London (TfL) is sounding out the market to establish how it can use data and artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle some of the challenges in the capital's road network. The idea is to add predictive capability to the organisation's Surface Intelligent Transport System (SITS) to enhance response to incidents such as roadworks, congestion and other unplanned events. The enhanced system would be able to accurately forecast the state of the road network after an incident and generate suggested response strategies, while modelling these strategies on the road network to create an effectiveness-based ranking. This would be the first time AI is used to manage London's road network. Data would also play a key role in the new version of SITS, which would draw on a wide range of historic and real-time datasets to predict reactions to incidents on the roads.

The UK's Department of Transport has announced plans to share data on roadworks taking place during public holidays. The government agency hopes that the datasets will be used by navigation companies like Garmin, Here and Waze – many of which rely on AI technologies – to optimize the flow of traffic. "Today's announcement will help open up data, reducing congestion, pollution and frustration for road users," said George Freeman, Minister for the Future of Transport. The government collects information on upcoming roadworks through Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) – tools which allow local authorities to restrict, regulate or prevent the use of any public road. Under proposed legislative changes, tech companies would be able to gain access to this treasure trove of data and come up with solutions to potential traffic jams, months in advance.

Motorists could soon enjoy quicker and easier getaways on bank holidays, as government announces plans today (26 August 2019) to open up data on planned changes to the road network, highlighting potential traffic jams up to months in advance. Tech firms could soon get access to this data thanks to a review of legislation around Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) - the orders behind restrictions on the road network which allow for temporary roadworks or permanent changes to the road. Companies will potentially be able to develop and enhance navigational apps powered by AI, warning drivers up to months in advance of planned disruption to routes and offering alternatives to help save time and money. As a road user, there is nothing more frustrating than discovering roadworks and getting stuck in traffic jams. Today's announcement will help open up data, reducing congestion, pollution and frustration for road users.

Mini-robots that can fix pipe leaks and work in dangerous environments could soon make road-works a thing of the past. The government is investing a total of £26.6 million to help fund a variety of projects, including the 1cm-long machines. The cash is being split among four UK universities - Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham and Bristol - to create the innovative pipe-bots which will work in underground pipes and dangerous sites like nuclear decommissioning facilities. It is hoped they will spell the end for many disruptive and expensive roadworks, as robots carry out repairs without the need to dig up the roads. Mini-robots that can fix pipe leaks and work in dangerous environments could soon make road-works a thing of the past.

The UK government is investing millions in the development of micro-robots designed to work in underground pipe networks and dangerous sites such as decommissioned nuclear facilities. Airborne and underwater versions could also inspect and maintain difficult-to-reach locations such as offshore windfarms or oil and gas pressure vessels. Led by Prof Kirill Horoshenkov at the University of Sheffield and backed by a £7.2m government grant, the collaborative research programme will also involve scientists from Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds universities. It is hoped that the 1cm-long devices will use sensors and navigation systems to find and mend cracks in pipes, avoiding disruption from roadworks estimated to cost the economy £5bn a year. The remaining £19.4m will fund research into the use of robotics in hazardous environments, including drones for oil pipeline monitoring or artificial intelligence able to establish the need for repairs on satellites in orbit.

Nissan unveiled a unique twist on autonomous driving technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, bringing the use of remote human intervention as a way of solving the current limitations of artificial intelligence (AI) in cars. As part of its Seamless Autonomous Mobility (SAM) system, Nissan claims it will allow its car's AI to use cloud processing power as well as the ability to call on help from human support (in a remote centre) to help it overcome unpredictable situations. The idea, according to Nissan, is to allow for a transitional phase whereby autonomous cars can begin to coexist with human drivers. When the autonomous driving system of a car comes to a situation that it cannot process or deal with, such as an accident site, or roadworks, it will either hand the case over to the driver, or if not possible, it will contact a remote command centre which would take charge of the situation, remotely log-in to the vehicle and draw a route around the obstacle for the car to follow. The reason for this human intervention requirement, Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn says, is because drivers know how to break the rules respectfully, but machines do not.

Jaguar Land Rover is to start testing self-driving technology in a fleet of more than 100 research vehicles on public roads – including a'cone-buster' system to take the pain out of roadworks. The first of the vehicles will be driven on a new 41 mile test route on motorways and urban roads around Coventry and Solihull later this year. The trials are to help develop innovative self-driving technology including'Roadwork Assist' that steers frustrated drivers through the blight of proliferating traffic cones, roadworks, and contraflows. Jaguar Land Rover is to begin testing 100 research vehicles equipped with self-driving technology on public roads in Britain, including a new feature called Roadwork Assist that aims to steer drivers safely through narrow lanes and complex cone systems that proliferate on the country's roads (pictured) The vehicles will also feature a'Safe Pullaway' feature aimed at preventing low-speed accidents at junctions, roundabouts and in slow moving traffic that can be caused by road works. A number of new features in the new Jaguar promise to help motorists see the road ahead and better detect and avoid obstacles and hazards.