DustCart Robot Does the Dirty Work

July 10, 2009

I've written about recycling robots before, but they can't even touch the DustCart, a trash and recycling robot that's been tested on narrow Italian streets. Besides being adorable, it has the potential to change the way we deal with discards.

Sure, you might have seen it featured on Engadget, Inhabitat, and TreeHugger but the DustBot pilot project is worth a closer look. The project aims to design autonomous robots that improve urban municipal waste management. If all goes well, DustCart could lead to smarter and more efficient trash and recycling collection, as well as pollution-monitoring.

Recently DustCart rolled around Peccioli, a tiny town in Italy. Where trash trucks can get stuck in the narrow 8th Century streets, DustCart turns the corners with ease. The robot is programmed to respond to residents who call and tell it what they're tossing--organic waste, recyclables. It shows up at the door, opens its belly, and then drops everything off at a waste-collection facility, all while sensors monitor pollutants in the air. Anyone who has been awoken by dump trucks in the middle of the night will appreciate that it runs quietly on lithium ion batteries. 

There are definitely drawbacks to the DustCart. One of these little guys clearly can't replace a fleet of dump trucks in urban areas, plus it could pose a Segway-like problem for traffic and big eyes can't always override human skepticism. Fortunately, the robot will undergo more tests in Spain, Japan, and St. Louis this year--if it isn't stolen by rabid WALL-E fans first.

Photo: The Dustbot enjoys the sights in Italy. Credit: Fulvio Paolocci/Global Post.

Comments

[Mike]

We need these in NYC - they'd have to make them pretty secure though. It would be the dream of every clown to have one of these in their backyard!

[Karen]

Too cool!

[Martin, Newbury Park, CA, USA]

This is very cool, reminds me of the Robots from the "Black Hole" Film!