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And now, robotic highway cones

LINCOLN, APRIL 30. Did those orange construction cones just scuttle across the road? It is not a hallucination or the work of a stiff breeze, but the vision of one inventor.

A University of Nebraska-Lincoln Professor has developed robotic cones and barrels that can move out of the way, or into place, from computer commands made miles away.

They can even be programmed to move on their own at any particular part of the day, said Shane Farritor, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

For example, if workers arrived at 6 a.m. the cones could move from the shoulder to block off the lane at that time, then return to the side of the highway at the end of the day.

The robotic cones would also help remove people from hazardous jobs on the highway putting barrels and cones into place, Mr. Farritor said in a report on his creation. — AP

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