Assessment of the state-of-the-art of robotics applications in highway construction and maintenance

Automation and robotization in highway construction and maintenance are currently under active development in the United States and other countries around the world. Although road construction and maintenance have been well-mechanized over the past decades, it is urgent and feasible to adapt new robotic technology to develop a series of highway construction and maintenance robots that increase the productivity and reduce costs, provide maximum safety to workers and the traveling public, and improve the service quality. As highway robots will be subject to a semi-or unconstructed, harsh and dynamic environment, robustness in design and manufacture is of paramount concern. A thorough literature search has been conducted and this paper presents the status of research and development in this area and highlights the possible applications of robotics in highway construction and maintenance. This paper is a condensed version of a full report.