STRABAG's TPA competence centre, along with its EU-wide research project InfraROB partners, has trialled new autonomous road construction technology during refurbishment works on the A9 motorway.
The A9 motorway is situated between Graz and the Slovenian border.
The latest technology is set to enhance the efficiency, safety and cost-effectiveness of road construction and maintenance operations.
Over the past three years, 15 companies and research institutes from eight countries have collaborated on five InfraROB subprojects.
The University of Vigo, Spain, led these efforts to develop automation technology aimed at long-term improvements in road construction.
During the ongoing renovation of the A9 near Spielfeld, a fully autonomous paver laid asphalt over a 180m trial section.
This operation was managed entirely automatically, with coordination and logistics handled by a STRABAG team from Graz.
ASFINAG, the road operator and an InfraROB partner, provided the section for this trial.
The objective of InfraROB Subproject 1, involving TPA and three German partners, has been met with the creation of an automatic control system.
This system represents the final component for fully autonomous asphalt paving.
TPA Group PSS Process Stability Road Construction head Sebastian Czaja said: “In the future, paving personnel will increasingly take on controller tasks.
“It can therefore work at a greater distance from the flow of traffic and is therefore less exposed to the fumes and aerosols during installation.”
The automation of asphalt paving is expected to improve occupational health and safety at road construction sites.
MOBA has developed a specialised module for the autonomous machinery control, which connects to the digital CAN bus interface of the asphalt paver directly, providing it precise target data for the paving process.
Object recognition sensors and satellite navigation (GNSS) ensure the paver remains accurately on course.
Another innovation from InfraROB Subproject 1 is a paver attachment that incorporates a sensor-equipped fibre optic cable into the asphalt's surface layer.
Following the asphalt paving, small autonomous robots with paint tanks will execute road marking at the end of October, as part of Subproject 2.
