Burrowing robots could speed-up roll-out of high-speed fibre to the home

Researchers at Leeds University, led by Dr Raul Fuentes, are developing burrowing robots that can sense the behaviour of the ground around them, and the force they are applying to it, to allow them to move through the soil without disrupting anything above them.

The EPSRC-funded MOLE project, which is supported by BT and also includes civil engineering company Kier and the Universities of Birmingham and Sydney, could speed-up the roll-out of high-speed fibre to the home.

Installing fibre to individual homes is a slow and expensive process, according to Fuentes. “The current technology means it cannot be done quickly or cost-effectively enough,” he said.

“According to BT, something like this could potentially save £30-120m in installation costs, with the added benefit that we will be able to provide connectivity to homes much more quickly than would otherwise happen.”

As part of the £1.2m, five-year project, Fuentes plans to develop a model that will merge geomechanics, or the science of ground behaviour, with robotics.