Avular is proud to announce the creation of Europe’s first autonomous asphalt roller together with Heijmans. As the technology partner on this groundbreaking project, we help bring automation and intelligence to the heart of road construction.
Smarter, safer, and more efficient infrastructure
The autonomous roller addresses some of the biggest challenges in the Dutch infrastructure sector. With a growing shortage of skilled workers and increasing societal demands for road maintenance, Heijmans is turning to innovation to do more with less.
The roller operates fully autonomously, following pre-programmed instructions while maintaining a constant asphalt temperature and monitoring the paving process in real time. Operators prepare work digitally and control the machine remotely, reducing on-site personnel, minimizing risks, and ensuring consistently high quality.
“This milestone shows how technology can make construction smarter and safer,” says Bart Smolders, Director of Infra at Heijmans. “It lowers risks for our workers, maintains high quality, and allows us to work emission-free.”
Demonstration and future steps
The prototype has been successfully tested and will be demonstrated on October 27 at Schiphol Airport. We expect the first industrial version to be operational in Q2 2026, with potential expansion to other asphalt machinery. In the future, two operators may be able to control multiple machines simultaneously, reducing the number of staff required for asphalt teams.
Avular: Enabling autonomous innovation
For Avular, this project is a perfect example of how autonomous technology transforms consisting machines into intelligent, automated solutions. Our partnership with Heijmans shows how robotics and autonomy are shaping the future of road construction, helping make infrastructure smarter, safer, and more sustainable.