KBTV

Gas-pumping Robot

Some of you may remember the good old days when there were still full-service gas stations, where a neatly dressed, smiling attendant would pump your gas for you with a smile. There are still a few places where this is still the case, like if you stop in a remote section of New Jersey, but for the most part self-service gas stations are the norm. Well, if you’re taking a trip to the Netherlands any time soon and stop to fill up your tank, you may encounter quite a different type of person filling up your tank – one made of metal with computer chips and lots of wires…yes, a robot.

A group of Dutch inventors recently unveiled a $111,100 car-fuelling robot. They claim it’s the first of its kind.

This high tech robot works by registering the car as it pulls up to the pump and matching it to a database of fuel cap designs and fuel types. A robotic arm fitted with multiple sensors then extends from a regular gas pump. It carefully opens the car’s flap, unscrews the fuel cap, grabs the fuel nozzle and sticks it inside the tank. It basically works much like a human arm would, and the inventors claim, it’s just as efficient.

The robot’s developer and owner of the gas station putting it to work, Nico van Staveren, says the got the idea for this invention when he was on a farm and saw a robotic arm milking a cow. He thought, “If a robot can do that then why can’t it fill a car tank.” He figured that drivers, and gas pumping attendants, shouldn’t have to get their hands dirty or smell the gas on their bodies.

Staveren hopes to introduce his robot, called the “Tankpitstop” to several Dutch stations by the end of the year.

The only limitation is that the robot can’t fill the tank of a car whose contours and dimensions aren’t recorded in its database. It if tries, it could scratch the car. The robot also doesn’t work on tanks that have locks on them.

Okay, so say these Dutch stations install this gas-pumping robot. Will anyone actually want to use it? One Dutchman filling his black Alfa Romeo near Staveren’s station said, “Why not? I guess I could keep my hands free and clean, but I’d hope they have good insurance.” He makes a good point!

posted by Jason Parsley @ 9:28 PM