Volvo Construction Equipment has released an image of what asphalt pavers might look like in the future.

"Fenix" is an environmentally and operator friendly asphalt paver that simplifies road laying - a process which commonly involves a number of workers and machines. It is a single unit that performs both the paving and the compacting in a choreographed fashion. It replaces the need for a team of pavers as all of its controls can be governed by a single operator.

Fenix uses the idea of transporting the asphalt in thermopods. These pods work in a similar way to an espresso machine. Just as the coffee goes into a holder and hot water passes through it, the same is true for the ashphalt.

The thermapods are filled at a mix plant up to 50 km away from the job-site and transported to the paving site where they are positioned in front of the paver-compactor at 50m intervals.

Three thermapods are loaded on the machine platform and unloaded after material is laid down, which means that there is continuous paving at a speed of 25m per minute.

Each pod can hold 17t of mix at 135 degrees celsius for up to three hours. Each pod is fitted with GPS technology that keeps all people aware of each pod's location and estimated time of arrival at the paving site.

The asphalt mix is unloaded from the pod and moved by conveyors to Fenix's auger chamber from where it is laid on the paving area. The pods are unloaded at a rate that is matched to the paver speed and depth requirements. They extend automatically when loaded and retract when unloaded.

Fenix's hydraulics use distilled and de-ionised water instead of oil, making the machine less expensive to run and more environmentally friendly.