Every year, workers spend thousands of hours inside dark, dusty tunnels manually bolting brackets and pulling cables for lighting, ventilation, and signalling—a slow, hazardous process that a new robotic system aims to replace. The problem is straightforward: once a tunnel boring machine finishes digging, the fitting-out of mechanical, electrical, and communication services remains almost entirely manual. Workers operate in confined spaces, exposed to dust, vibration, and heavy lifting, while the work itself is slow and expensive. The A-TRIS project will build and demonstrate a prototype that uses robotics and artificial intelligence to automate the installation of these services—positioning, fixing, and securing brackets and containment without a person in the tunnel. If successful, the system could cut installation costs, reduce material waste, and shrink carbon footprints on tunnelling projects for roads, rail, and energy infrastructure. It would also remove workers from hazardous environments entirely. The project is not fundamental science; it is an engineering demonstration of a real-world automation solution, with potential to spread into other construction sectors where similar repetitive, confined-space installation work is still done by hand.
View original technical description
**Project Background** Infrastructure tunnels are usually constructed using Tunnel Boring Machine's (TBM's) which are highly automated, used for cutting through the ground, producing a tunnel lining behind the TBM. However, once the tunnel is constructed, the fitting out of the tunnel for mechanical, electrical and communication services (M&E) are traditionally installed manually in a labour intensive manner, involving the fixing of bracketry and containment to support services. This traditional process has been found to be time consuming, unproductive, costly and it exposes workers to unsafe working environments and activities, (e.g. confined spaces, hand arm vibrations, dust, etc). The need for automating M&E service installations within tunnels led to the successful feasibility project of the Automated Tunnel Robotic Installation Solution (A-TRIS), which is now ready to be developed, a prototype built and demonstrated. **Project Aims** * To build and demonstrate a robotics and artificial Intelligence (RAI) process, to automate the traditional process of (M&E) service installations within an existing or recently constructed tunnel environment. Hence, eliminating the need for humans in unsafe and hazardous working environments, improving productivity across installation activities and promoting digitisation across the industry. * To capture the effectiveness and performance of the automated system through real-time demonstrations, showcasing how A-TRIS can be utilised in all types and sizes of tunnel construction, used for road, rail transportation and energy infrastructure. **Outputs** Outputs from this project will lead to minimised health & safety issues at the workplace, reduction of overall risk to operatives and increased levels of quality assurance and productivity for tunnelling related schemes. In addition to this the following key outputs shall be demonstrated: * reduced construction plant movement. * delivery reductions. * reduced installation costs and material waste. * carbon footprint reductions. * reductions of operatives within tunnelling environments. **Focus Areas** * The main area of focus will be the demonstrations of automating the installation process of M&E services in tunnels using robotics engineering and artificial intelligence to provide industrywide improvements. * A-TRIS will identify the whole life process (design, manufacturing and installation processes) for a RAI automation solution for mechanical, electrical and communication infrastructure services in tunnels and where this innovative technology can be used in other construction sectors. **Innovation** The build and demonstration of A-TRIS will show the real-world feasibility and how the use of robotics and AI integrated with positioning surveying and visual technology, logistics engineering and software can deliver the automated positioning, installation and fixing of M&E services in tunnel environments.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know