Accessing subsurface utilities buried beneath a roadway can sometimes be a two or three-day effort involving multiple lane closures and heavy equipment. Looking to minimize that scenario and to accelerate an ongoing overhaul of the U.K.’s second-largest gas distribution network, gas utility SGN has been investing in the development of the autonomous RRES roadworks robot from ULC Technologies.
Short for Robotic Roadworks and Excavation System, the RRES is a stand-alone, battery-powered robot that can autonomously perform the complex tasks required to excavate, repair and rebury gas lines situated beneath paved roadways. Now undergoing trials in the U.K. through the spring and summer, SGN and ULC see the RRES as the future platform for work on all kinds of underground utilities.