Just as the auto industry is still savouring the
wonder of autonomous or driverless vehicles, there are indications that robotic
trucks will hit the road soon.
The Volvo Group says it is developing a robot that
will interact with the refuse truck and its driver to quietly enter the
neighborhood, collect refuse bins and empty them into the truck.
It said this would be done without waking up the
sleeping families.
Although the initiator of the project said the new
product would be unveiled soon in developed countries such as the United
States, for the Nigerian market, it was silent when the robotic truck would be
made available. The driverless cars have not been introduced to the country
either.
It described the robot-controlled refuse truck as a
joint venture being developed in conjunction with the Chalmers University of
Technology and Mälardalen University in Sweden, Penn State University in the
United States, and a waste recycling company, Renova.
According to a report obtained from its website on
Tuesday, the project, Robot-based Autonomous Refuse handling, aims at
developing tomorrow’s smart transport solutions.
“The goal is to introduce a robot that, with the
help of instructions from a truck’s operating system, can collect refuse bins
in a neighborhood, bring them to a refuse truck and empty them. All of this
occurs under the supervision of the refuse truck’s driver, who can thereby
avoid heavy lifting,” it stated.
It said the purpose of ROAR was “to demonstrate how
we, in the very near future, will use smart machines to assist with a broad
range of activities in society. This technology can be applied in many areas.
Refuse collection is just one example.”
It quoted the project leader for the Volvo Group,
Mr. Per-Lage[BA1] Götvall, “Within Volvo Group we foresee a future with more
automation. This project provides a way to stretch the imagination and test new
concepts to shape transport solutions for tomorrow.”
According to the group, the three universities are
part of Volvo Group’s Academic Partner Programme, a network of 12 academic
partners collaborating with Volvo for long-term cooperation in research and
recruitment.
The students have different tasks and roles.
Mälardalens University will design the robot itself.
Source: The Punch
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