Volvo's vision of the future may seem different than the usual from other tech firms and car manufacturers. The Swedish multinational company is thinking of ways to automate the collection of refuse bins and emptying them into trucks through robots designed to get the job done without having to wake up the residents.
Volvo has teamed up with waste management and recycling company Renova for a joint project called Robot-based Autonomous Refuse handling (ROAR) to develop a robot that interacts with the refuse truck and its driver to accomplish the collection of refuse.
To be specific, the purpose of ROAR is to introduce a robot that can do a job process with the help of instructions from a truck's operating system - the first step is to collect the refuse bins in a neighborhood, relay them into a refuse truck and empty them. The process is supervised by the refuse truck driver, who will thereby relieve from lifting the heavy refuse bins from the residences, to the refuse trucks, and back again.
"Within Volvo Gtroup we foresee a future with more automation," says the project leader for the Volvo Group, Per-Lage Gotvall. "This project provides a way to stretch the imagination and test new concepts to shape transport solutions for tomorrow."
Volvo is also collaborating with three universities that are part of Volvo's Group Academic Partner Program. The design of the robot will be handled by Malardalens University, the computer programs and algorithms will be made by Chalmers University, and the control panel, interface and communication systems will be the responsibility of Pennsylvania State University Transport Institute.
The project is still in its early phase, and images of the prototypes are not likely to be what's pictured in the documents, but the goal still remains to eliminate the noise and drudgery whenever refuse is collected from the neighborhood. The first tests would see the light in June of next year although it may take a while longer until refuse collection becomes automated.
