Colas has unveiled the world's Autonomous Impact Protection Vehicle (AIPV) to help protect road workers on motorways.

Developed in partnership with US companies Royal Truck and Equipment (RT&E) and Micro Systems Inc. (MSI), the vehicles has been designed to be used as a mobile crash barrier, which will increase safety for workers and protect equipment from motorists.

The Autonomous IPV is fitted with an electro-mechanical applique kit and fully integrated sensor suite. It utilises a Leader/Follower capability, allowing the unmanned vehicle to follow a driver operated Leader Vehicle.

Navigation data that includes vehicle speed and heading is transmitted from the Leader vehicle to the Follower vehicle, enabling the Follower vehicle to use the data to follow the exact path and speed of the Leader vehicle at each point along the route.

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Despite launching today onsite in Colorado, United States, the technology is backed by Highways England and Colas are looking at ways to bring the technology to Europe.

Colas Chief Executive Officer Lee Rushbrooke said: "We are dedicated to advancing health and safety issues and will continue to invest in cutting-edge research and development projects to benefit our employees, clients and the wider industry. We are extremely excited about this new technology and are looking forward to giving this a global reach to save lives of road workers, across the world."

Mike Wilson, Executive Director for Safety, Engineering and Standards at Highways England, added: "Our number one imperative is safety and we believe no one should be harmed when travelling or working on our road network.

"We welcome this innovative work by Colas which, through the use of connected and autonomous vehicle technology, has the potential to help the sector address the risks road workers face on a daily basis."

(LM)