FILLING IN PESKY CRACKS with an automated road-repair system: “Repaving roads with fresh tarmac is an expensive, time-consuming task that’s always inconvenient to any driver who has come upon a blocked off highway lane. Researchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) believe that they can extend the lifespan of a road’s pavement by simply repairing cracks as they appear using an automated system. Jonathan Holmes and his fellow colleagues at GTRI developed an automated road repair system that can detect and fill in any cracks in the asphalt. The system could potentially replace a multi-man road crew with a single robot hitched to a truck, all while doing the job faster and more safely.”

Good. The robotic crack-filler will mean smoother rides for our driverless cars. . . .