Self repairing city: Robots and drones made in Leeds to repair potholes and street lights
Self repairing city: Robots and drones made in Leeds to
repair potholes and street lights
17:02Friday 16 October 2015
SCIENTISTS at Leeds University are to create new robots
and drones to help fix street lights and potholes as part of an ambitious plan
to create “self-repairing cities.”
Academics are leading a pioneering £4.2m national
research project to develop small robots which can identify problems with
utility pipes, street lights and roads and fix them.
The idea is to create a “self repairing city” where
working robots would cause minimal environmental impact and disruption to the
public.
After being thoroughly tested the robots will be trialled
“in a safe environment” on the streets of Leeds.
The researchers will initially develop new robot designs
and technologies in three areas:
“Perch and Repair” – research to develop drones that can
perch, like birds, on structures at height and perform repair tasks, such as
repairing street lights.
“Perceive and Patch” - research to develop drones able to
autonomously inspect, diagnose, repair and prevent potholes in roads;
“Fire and forget” – research to develop robots which will
operate indefinitely within live utility pipes performing inspection, repair,
metering and reporting tasks.
Professor Phil Purnell, from the School of Civil
Engineering, is leading the research team.
He said: “We want to make Leeds the first city in the world
to have zero disruption from street works.
“We can support infrastructure which can be entirely
maintained by robots and make the disruption caused by the constant digging up
the road in our cities a thing of the past.”
Dr Rob Richardson, director of the National Facility for
Innovative Robotic Systems at the university added: “Detecting faults and
weaknesses early and then quickly performing smart repairs is the key.
“Our robots will undertake precision repairs and avoid
the need for large construction vehicles in the heart of our cities. We will
use the unique capabilities of our robotic facility to make new, more capable
robots.
“The project, ‘Balancing the impact of City
Infrastructure Engineering on Natural systems using Robots’, will also track
the social, environmental, political and economic impact of these new
technologies in the city.”
Announcing the funding during a visit to Cambridge
University, Minister Jo Johnson said: “As a one nation Government we are investing
in world-class science and engineering across our country. We want the UK to be
the best place in Europe to innovate and this £4.2 million investment will
bring together researchers to address some of the most pressing engineering
challenges we face.
“From ground-breaking work with robotics to advanced
air-flow simulators, this investment will help tackle our aging water
infrastructure and air pollution in cities to improve the lives of millions of
people around the world.”
The team will work with Leeds City Council and the UK
Collaboration for Research in Infrastructure and Cities to ensure that the
robots are thoroughly tested before being trialled “in a safe and responsible
manner in Leeds”.
Leader of Leeds City Council Coun Judith Blake said:
“We are delighted to be working with the University of
Leeds on this intriguing and groundbreaking project.
“We are very keen to explore new innovations and use the
latest technologies to improve how the city runs through our Smart Cities
programme, and this idea of turning science fiction into fact will be
fascinating to watch. “We look forward to following its development with
interest as part of a relationship between the council and the university that
continues to go from strength to strength.”
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/self-repairing-city-robots-and-drones-made-in-leeds-to-repair-potholes-and-street-lights-1-7519518
Comments
Post a Comment