Watching an operator use a walk-behind tool to remove road markings with ultra-high-pressure (UHP) water blasting on a job site recently, Dave Friday was reminded of exactly why his company, APEX Waterjetting Global, created the StripeBot.
“Right next to [the operator’s] left foot was the line of cones, and right on the other side of the cones was speeding traffic,” Friday said. “You could feel the breeze from the cars. The operator said, ‘This is how we’ve always done it.’” That kind of statement is exactly what APEX is working to change.

Each year, thousands of crashes occur in work zones across the United States. In 2023 alone, the U.S. reported 898 fatalities and over 40,000 injuries in work zones—many involving highway workers. According to workzonesafety.org, up to 38% of pedestrian fatalities in these zones are workers themselves. These aren’t just numbers—they represent lives changed, families devastated, and missions cut short. “Imagine how many lives we can potentially save by moving our road workers away from danger,” Friday said. “Often inches can mean the difference between a fatality and our team going home to their families.” That’s the heart behind StripeBot.

Developed by Florida-based APEX Waterjetting Global, StripeBot is an autonomous pavement marking removal tool that eliminates the need for operators to walk behind or ride on water-blasting tools just inches from active lanes. Instead, it uses a camera-based vision system and artificial intelligence to keep the UHP blasting head perfectly on course. Speed is controlled remotely—often from a lane or two away from live traffic.

“The operator still oversees the job—but now they can do it from a safer distance, with a much lower risk profile,” said Friday.
And the system couldn’t be easier to integrate. StripeBot can be tethered to virtually any water-blasting system on the market. Contractors simply connect their UHP and vacuum hose to StripeBot, establish a forward speed using the remote control, and let the machine take over. It will maintain cruise control, steer itself along the target path, and keep working without exposing an operator to unnecessary danger.

Beyond the safety benefits, StripeBot is built around a process that’s already considered the gold standard: ultra-high-pressure water blasting. This method uses up to 40,000 psi of pure water to cleanly strip pavement markings without damaging the underlying surface. Compared to grinding, chemicals, or burning, UHP is safer for the surface, the environment, and the crew.

It’s a proven method for pavement and runway marking removal—and now, StripeBot is making it smarter and safer.
As departments of transportation across the country implement stricter safety standards and adopt new tech like automated speed enforcement cameras, StripeBot arrives at the right time. Connecticut, for example, reported over 2,000 work zone crashes since 2023 and has recently introduced state-wide initiatives to reduce fatalities. Tools like StripeBot are part of the answer—because when you remove the exposure, you reduce the risk.

This isn’t about automation for automation’s sake. It’s about people. It’s about families. And it’s about making sure everyone on the job gets home at the end of the day.

StripeBot is a bold step in that direction.