Pipebots can help find the location of water leaks in underground pipes (Credit: University of Sheffield / CC-BY-SA-2.0)

Every day, the United Kingdom (UK) loses about three billion liters of water due to leaks in its aging pipe network. That is enough to fill over 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools or supply nearly 20 million people. Currently, the only way to check underground pipes is by digging up roads. This process take days and costs billions of dollars. It also disrupts nearby businesses and homes.