RoadBotics, a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff, has several smaller governments as clients. The first was North Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County.

RoadBotics users mount a smartphone to their windshield and an app on the phone records data about road conditions, helping clients make decisions about repairs.Township Manager Mike Turley said he first heard of RoadBotics after a public works staffer went to a presentation by the startup. He said he was drawn to the cutting-edge technology and the fact that RoadBotics was a CMU spinoff.

Although the township likes to work with companies that have experience, working with newer companies, especially when it comes to technology, is sometimes the best option, he said.