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Fuel News / Tankpitstop – the fuel-pumping robot
If you’ve ever pulled into a service station and thought, I wish someone would fill her up for me, you may just get your wish if this Dutch robot has its way.
Named Tankpitstop, it costs over $110,000 as is the first car-fuelling robot (how no one thought of that before is remarkable). The robot first reads the registering of the car on arrival and matches it to a database of fuel cap designs and fuel types. What can go wrong…
From there it only gets more complicated as a robotic arm (fitted with numerous sensors) extends towards the car, carefully pulls open the car’s flap, unscrews the cap, picks up the correct fuel nozzle and pushes it into the tank opening. Not bad!
There are some limitations though, firstly it requires your car’s fuel cap to be keyless and the system needs to have a recording of your car’s dimensions (to avoid hitting the car).
“I was on a farm and I saw a robotic arm milking a cow. If a robot can do that then why can’t it fill a car tank, I thought,” said developer Nico van Staveren.
Real-world testing is scheduled to begin at a few Dutch petrol stations by the end of the year, so it’s unlikely we would see it in Australia for some time.
Tell us, would you actually let a robot fill up your precious car?
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For that money, you could pay some kid for about 5 years to do the same thing to multiple cars at once – just like the good old days, he could do your windscreen and tyres at the same time! Technology & Progress – not always the same thing.
Wouldn’t be funny if it put diesel in the Falcon now would it!
And covered the forecourt with fuel.
Fat, lazy people rejoice!
I can see this catching on with the seriously wealthy and/or company cars. Pre-register the credit card and your vehicle details / dimensions and you’ll never have to get out of the car at a servo again. The rich (& most women) will be happy to pay a premium.
I love the fumes too much, I’ll still be getting out of the car!
potentially could make a big difference to the lives of disabled drivers.
Terrific Technology, but only for lazy people….
So there is no point to spend the big bucks.
I wouldn’t criticise the disabled for requesting this technology in the future….but as for the rest of us, come on how lazy have some people become????
Having said that this might be a good technology for filling up with Hydrogen in the distant future!!!
Are you guys kidding? You’re happy to shop at a window at McDonalds instead of lining up. What’s so different.
Nothing worse than waiting in line at the pump on cheap Tuesday and then waiting for slow coach to go inside, line up, pay with a dodgy credit card and then return to the pump to move their car for your turn.
If this will speed up this weekly ritual, I’m all for it. I get my exercise doing ‘exercise’!
Geez you wouldnt want to bend over to open the cap ??
hallajulah finally good work ford for planning ahead with your capless idea cant wait maybe i should move to dutch today[lol [i know its holland]
Hmmm a robot… which requires electricity to operate…. the same stuff that can spark… next to fuel… the same stuff that ignites. Hmmmm that sounds good.
TP,
no fair,
that was exactlly my first thought too ha ha ha
why does this electronic device not have to be turned off?
have they finally admitted that mobile phones dont cause explosions?
280zx,
ha ha ha,
yeah fill her up thanks…………GULP………..
i also dont think people realise that this sort of stuff also puts people out of jobs.
firstly they charge you more for over the counter at your bank and put more ATMs in,
then all the console operators will face the same fate.
and also some stores have self scanning lanes for your groceries…….hence more redundant people
as said earlier they could easily pay some one for a few years to do the same job operating multiple pumps for the cost of this
Its hydraulic TP, and its bound to be properly earthed. I just think its a useless waste of electricity to deliver a fuel that already takes so much energy to produce and distribute and then there is waste from petrol evaporating into the atmosphere. They are adding to the problem of “using more energy to deliver 1L of fuel than what’s in the 1L of fuel” I think they should be focusing on making a sealed filling method so there is no loss of fuel vapour, Just imagine how much fuel you lose a year through evaporation. And i like to fill it myself because i want all the fuel out of that hose, because i paid for it.
Aaaah Minnow. you hit a target there with sealed fueling. Stage 2 vapour recovery is being rolled out big style in Euroland. I think its mostly about recovering vapour due to the carcogens released from Petrol, Diesel does not have quite the same problem.
“Geez you wouldnt want to bend over to open the cap ??” ha ha 280zx you must have a ring like a fuel pipe for them to make a mistake like that mate ..snigger snigger
Minnow Im aware they are hydraulic and of course when its NEW it will have no problems… give it 5 years when they are aging, a short… power surge… whatever, you dont put something that needs elecriticy near fuel, period. Especially when its so unnecessary like this! Mind you there are other arguments as well, not only should people get off their fat a*ses to fill it up themselves but its just a waste of energy in a world thats running out of resources to fuel itself, fair enough while its small scale its not bad but hypothetically if the world took somehting like this up its going to add alot to energy requirements… for nothing. Oh and lastly these things could be a target for vandalism or hey, even terrosim, fiddle with the electronics, spark, boom. So many reasons why this isnt needed.
TP,
if these are hydraulic as minnow says then no sparks should be near the fuelling robot. they could have the motor mounted under ground.