83503Feasibility of an automatic road crack-filling systemClosedSmall Business Research InitiativeInnovate UKPotholes have been a problem for humanity since when the Appian way was built. In the UK, Highways England and County and City Councils are relentlessly fixing almost two millions potholes each year, but this is not enough. The backlog is growing and there are more and more potholes on the roads. Despite all the effort, the traditional methods (two-man-gang) of fixing potholes cannot cope with their spiraling numbers - too expensive and too slow. A step change is needed and robotics and artificial intelligence can be the empowering tools. Robotiz3d is developing a game-changing solution that sees high-tech autonomous robots patrolling the UK roads and repairing cracks and potholes as soon as they appear. Robotiz3d is a University of Liverpool spinoff born in the Robotic lab of the School of Engineering. Robotiz3d will 1) reduce the cost of road maintenance, 2) reduce the time of repair to a fraction to the current one, 3) make the sector more resilient thanks to autonomous solutions and 4) reduce the carbon footprint of road maintenance and contribute reducing the vehicles GHG emissions by guaranteeing better road pavements. In Phase 1 Robotiz3d will complete a feasibility study and develop a lab-prototype of a small-scale autonomous platform that can: i) monitor the condition of the road surface, ii) identify and promptly repair minor defects that may evolve into larger defects, iii) flag presence of large defects that will require a road maintenance crew to be fixed. It is envisaged that Phase 2 will then transform the proof-of-concept of Phase 1 into the complete autonomous platform for road micro-repair. Robotiz3d has conducted an independent market analysis that supports its proposition and has already been contacted by a County Council that showed interest in the project.