If you’re walking through the streets of North London and come across a strange black vehicle moving at a snail’s pace, give it some space. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have a laser. But it has the ability to detect cracks in the road on its own and seal them. It’s called the Autonomous Road Repair System (ARRES for short) and it’s currently being tested in real-world conditions in Hertfordshire.
Yes, it looks a little scary. New Atlas compares the angular body to the Tesla Cybertruck, although we instead get a Syd Mead / Blade Runner atmosphere due to its strange proportions. And let’s forget the fact that its name, formed from an acronym, is shared with the god of war in Greek mythology. There are no oscillating red lights that we can see, so he’s probably safe from becoming an evil murderous robot bent on destroying humanity. It does have some pretty cool wheels though.
All joking aside, the really cool stuff is what we can’t see. Developed by researchers at the University of Liverpool and a tech company called Robotiz3d, it uses a variety of sensors, cameras and other technology in conjunction with repair equipment that fills in cracks on its own. That said, ARRES can be controlled remotely by a human operator, but the whole point of the project is to develop something that can autonomously carry out road repairs around the clock.
According to Hertfordshire County Council, the project has been in development since 2020 and recently completed its first real-world test. Specific details on how exactly it works have not yet been revealed, but testing will continue in the region to further refine the system for official use. There are also plans to create a larger version that can lead an army of terminators perform even more automated road repair tasks.
“We are committed to fulfilling our mission to help build safe and sustainable road infrastructure through intelligent, automated maintenance and repair,” said Sebastiano Fichera, co-founder and CTO of Robotiz3d.
“ARRES Prevent is designed to autonomously perform crack sealing tasks by combining the revolutionary features of ARRES Eye, our cutting-edge AI-powered roadside investigation solution, with cutting-edge robotics and unmanned mobility , to proactively reduce the number of potholes. Working with Hertfordshire County Council has accelerated our pace of development, propelling us towards our goal of revolutionizing road maintenance practices.
