Demonstration Pilot in Torija, Spain

In March 2025, HERON launched its first major pilot on the A2 Motorway, one of Spain’s busiest transport arteries connecting Madrid and Barcelona and part of the TEN-T. Led by Acciona, the pilot focused on the section between Guadalajara and Soria, where extreme weather conditions and intense traffic flows put constant stress on the road infrastructure. This environment provided the ideal testing ground for HERON’s innovative robotic system for road maintenance and upgrading.

The pilot combined the HERON ground-based autonomous robot with drone-enabled visual inspection technologies. Preliminary trials were held at the Torija Traffic Control Centre, the operational heart of the motorway stretch. This facility, already equipped with CCTV, inductive loops, weather stations, and advanced ICT infrastructure, supported the validation of HERON’s image processing and sensing systems.

During the pilot demonstrations in Torija, the HERON system was tested across its full operational pipeline, validating its capability to perform complete road maintenance tasks in real-world conditions. The scenarios began with UAV aerial inspections, generating geolocated imaging data that was analyzed offline and made accessible via the HERON IMS. This data triggered maintenance missions defined by the off-site operator and executed by the on-site pilot using a graphical interface. The UGV successfully carried out a series of interventions, starting with cone placement as a safety measure, and continuing with crack sealing, pothole filling, and road marking painting. These tasks demonstrated the system’s ability to handle complex workflows with a high degree of autonomy, while maintaining live operator oversight and control.