Maintaining integrity, performance and safety of the road infrastructure through autonomous robotized solutions and modularization

Project Information

InfraROB

Grant agreement ID: 955337

DOI

10.3030/955337

Project closed

EC signature date 26 March 2021

Start date 1 September 2021

End date 28 February 2025

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 5 005 648,75

EU contribution

€ 5 005 648,75

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDAD DE VIGO
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - InfraROB (Maintaining integrity, performance and safety of the road infrastructure through autonomous robotized solutions and modularization)

Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2025-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

InfraROB aimed to modernise and optimise road infrastructure construction and maintenance through the development of autonomous, robotized, and modular technological solutions. The project addressed key sector challenges related to worker safety, traffic disruptions, and cost efficiency, contributing to the broader goals of safer, smarter, and more sustainable transport systems in Europe.

In its final period (M31–M42), the project has demonstrated satisfactory execution of all administrative, managerial, and technical commitments, meeting the scope and schedule defined in the Grant Agreement. All technical tasks have been implemented as planned, with progress monitored through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and validated in real pilot environments.

Key achievements have been recorded across the five Technological Areas of the project, confirming the maturity and impact of the developed solutions. Communication and dissemination activities were successfully completed, supporting the visibility and future exploitation of results. No further updates were required for the Data Management Plan.

Deviations from the original plan were documented and duly justified, without affecting the timely and effective implementation of the project activities. The overall conclusions confirm that InfraROB has achieved its objectives, delivering validated technologies and strategic knowledge to support the transition toward automated and resilient road asset management.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

InfraROB has successfully completed all planned activities and achieved all the objectives set out in the Grant Agreement. The project delivered a portfolio of autonomous, robotized, and modular technological solutions to enhance the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of road infrastructure construction, upgrade, and maintenance.

The project work was structured into five Technological Areas (TAs), which guided the development and validation of key innovations, including:
- TA1: Autonomous robotized machinery for construction, upgrade or large maintenance interventions
- TA2: Autonomous robotized machinery for the routine or periodic maintenance of the pavement
- TA3: Modularization of road construction/upgrade through industrial prefabrication
- TA4: Collaborative operation of safety cone robots and RPAS for work zone segmentation and signaling
- TA5: Upgrading of Management Systems to ensure safer operations and maintenance

These solutions were validated in real environments at three pilot sites (Austria, Italy, and Denmark), confirming measurable improvements across all expected impact areas. The project demonstrated its contribution to:
- A 50% reduction in fatal accidents involving road users and maintenance personnel
- A 20% reduction in traffic disruptions due to maintenance
- A 20% decrease in routine maintenance costs
- A 20% improvement in network capacity

These results were obtained through a KPI-based methodology assessing InfraROB technologies under different baseline scenarios and comparing them to standard conditions.

Exploitation and Dissemination

All communication and dissemination objectives defined in the project have been successfully achieved. The Communication and Dissemination Action Plan was first delivered in M6 (D6.2) updated mid-term (D6.4) and complemented by the Interim Report (D6.5). In the final reporting period, the Final Communication and Dissemination Report (D6.6) and the public e-Catalogue of Technological Solutions (D6.8) were completed, supporting visibility and post-project exploitation.

A key milestone in the final phase was the organisation of the Final Event: Old Roads, New Technologies: safe and intelligent road asset management, co-organised by sister projects OMICRON and InfraROB, with participation from the HERON project. The event brought together partners and external stakeholders to share results, identify common challenges, and explore future directions for Europe's road infrastructure sector.

On the exploitation side, InfraROB successfully implemented a structured Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) management strategy, ensuring alignment between protection and exploitation goals. The consortium defined ownership and access rights for all Exploitable Results, filed two patents, and agreed on conditions for access and use. These actions were documented in the D6.7 Exploitation Plan, which also addresses licensing models and standardization needs. The project demonstrated the value of early IPR planning, flexible licensing strategies, and the integration of IPR into the broader exploitation framework. Several partners are already considering next steps for commercial uptake or further development.

For more information, visit https://infrarobproject.com and download the e-catalogue: https://infrarobproject.com/Resources/e_catalog

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

O (Objective)

-Autonomous and autonomously-working road construction train (O1): Autonomy of operation based on the implementation of all machine functions as controlled processes, based on closed loop control technologies with predictive capabilities based on AI.
-Distributed sensing by Fibre Optic Sensors (FOS)’ automated integration in asphalt (O1.1): Increase in condition monitoring of roads as well as a significant advancement in industrial practice (automated laying).
-Autonomous robotized head to repair potholes and cracks in asphalt (O2): Autonomy of a low-cost 3D printing unit dedicated to early stages of road degradation paving the way to a new standard.
-Autonomously-working line marking robot (O3): One-step process made by deploying a high accuracy robot (GNSS enabled) on the road and have it autonomously mark desired lines from BIM.
-Industrially-prefabricated ‘all-in-one construction element’ for roadside safety and drainage (O4): Modularization of the design and construction of the roadside drainage system and road restraint system, speeding up construction.
-Collaborative operation of safety cone robots and RPAS for work zone segmentation and signalling (O5): A new concept of collaborative operation between low-cost land safety cone robots, RPAS for precise positioning that implement AI and Deep Learning.
-PMS upgrades to enable predictive maintenance planning along with rentability assessment (O6 and O7): Introduction of new metrics that consider different policies and cost of robotic maintenance intervention and condition rating based on analysis supported by AI algorithms.
-TMS upgrades for the safe deployment of road maintenance robots tightly coupled with traffic regimes (O8): Holistic approach with the ability to process different nature information, together with V2V, V2I or weather conditions, along with decision support and decision-making tools.

With the mission of reducing workers’ exposure to live traffic as well as construction machines, reduce the cost of repetitive tasks, and increase the safety of road users while increasing the availability of the transport network, InfraROB also expects to contribute with a positive impact in terms of productivity and quality of the road construction industry, a better understanding of root causes for road damage that lead to better pavement design practices and longer pavement lifetimes, and fostering the electrification of the machines contributing to the Green Deal goals.

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