The latest demonstrator from startup hyperTunnel was built at the firm's R&D facility in the North Hampshire Downs. The approach is claimed to be friendlier to the environment and will use sustainable materials such as low-carbon concrete. It could also drastically improve safety in the tunnelling sector because no humans need to enter the structure during construction. A fleet of'hyperBot' robots enters the ground via an arch of high-density plastic pipes and, once inside, can 3D print the tunnel shell by deploying construction material directly into the ground. The 6m-long, 2m-high and 2m-wide Peak XV'pedestrian-scale' tunnel has been delivered as part of a project for Network Rail.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected the teams that will compete in the Subterranean Challenge. The multi-year robotics competition incentive is a $2 million prize which will result in robots that will autonomously search tunnels, caves, and underground structures. The competition aims to better equip warfighters and first responders to explore human-made tunnel systems, urban underground, and natural cave networks that are too dangerous, dark, or deep to risk human lives. The seven teams in the Systems competition challenge will develop and demonstrate physical systems in real-world environments. The teams selected in the Virtual competition will use simulation models and physics-based environments focusing on software-driven advances.