Robots on our roads: Is this the future of road safety?

New robotic technology will soon hit the roads as Transurban trials self-wheeling traffic cones on Citylink, removing the need for road workers to do the job.

The initiative, developed alongside Telstra, hopes to remove the risk to road workers in high-speed traffic and will be held in controlled environments during closures of the Burnley and Domain tunnels.

Liz Waller, Road Safety Specialist for Transurban, told 3AW Breakfast the trial also includes smart rumble strips that sense when a vehicle encroaches the area and alerts road workers to get out of the way.

Click PLAY below to see the robo-traffic cones in action

The use of the remote-controlled traffic cones “plans to reduce the risk to road workers who are exposed to live traffic”, Liz Waller from Transurban told Ross and John.

According to Waller, it is “absolutely possible” that road workers currently employed putting out traffic cones could be trained to pilot the new robotic traffic cones.

Click PLAY to hear more from Liz Waller