Dutch unveil robot to fill car petrol tank

[wildss]

Motorists nostalgic for the time they could sit tight while attendants braved windswept garage forecourts to fill their tanks may yet see those heady days return — compliments of a Dutch robot.

Dutch inventors have unveiled a $122,200 car-fuelling robot they say is the first of its kind, working by registering the car on arrival at the filling station and matching it to a database of fuel cap designs and fuel types.

A robotic arm fitted with multiple sensors extends from a regular petrol pump, carefully opens the car's flap, unscrews the cap, picks up the fuel nozzle and directs it towards the tank opening, much as a human arm would, and as efficiently.

"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 and petrol station operator Nico van Staveren. "Drivers needn't get dirty hands or smell of petrol again."

He hopes to introduce the "Tankpitstop" robot in a handful of Dutch stations by the end of the year. It works for any car whose tank can be opened without a key, and whose contours and dimensions have been recorded to avoid scratching.

Asked whether he would trust his car to a robotic garage attendant, Jelger De Kroon, filling his black Alfa Romeo at a nearby petrol station, said: "Why not? I guess I could keep my hands free and clean, but I'd hope they have good insurance."



Purpose - To set-up the study of an unmanned system for refuelling of vehicles, with attention to VOCs recovery. Design/methodology/approach - Presents the architecture of a robotic arm for refuelling. Special attention was allocated to the safety characteristics of the automatic refuelling station assuring the highest protection of people and their safeguard against accidents, preventing any dangerous response of the robotic arm in all the predictable conditions. A concurrent engineering methodology jointly with the life-cycle approach was adopted for the study and evaluation of the equipment. Findings - Finds that a six DoF arm with a tubular architecture with relocated actuation equipped with a specifically designed filler satisfying stage II rules is suitable to perform the task of safe refuelling of vehicles. Research limitations/implications - Provides hints to design refuelling stations, also for fluids of the future (e.g. hydrogen). Practical implications - This robot is a low cost and efficient solution for replacing humans in petrol pump stations, while preserving environmental health. Refuelling will be comfortable and safe even in adverse climate conditions or for dangerous fuels (e.g. hydrogen). Originality/value - Introduces a robotic arm made with tubes so that cables, pipes and VOCs run inside it and a filler granting easy mating with the cap and VOCs collection


i cant believe some of the bull**** things that people invent

[Rufus®]

i cant believe some of the bull**** things that people invent

LOL, ever watched the new inventors (or whatever its called) on the ABC?? i'd hate to imagine what they reject to let what they show on. But on the other hand, props to anyone that has actually invented something, its not easy to come up with a new idea, and if you think you can find a niche in the market for something, then go for it!

[wildss]

yeah but seriously are ppl so lazy and stuck up that they dont want to get out of their cars to pump fuel because it smells?
they want and need fuel but dont want to pump it themselves.
whats next?

[arrow224]

That won't work. Sure, for standard cars, but how will it go when cars have been lowered? Or even panels have been changed?

[Kikki]

yeah but seriously are ppl so lazy and stuck up that they dont want to get out of their cars to pump fuel because it smells?
they want and need fuel but dont want to pump it themselves.
whats next?

The problem for me is the kids, I have been abused a number of times, people get so ****ed off when I fill my car with LPG so bloody slow, get the kids out, walk in to pay and buy 500 Freddo's walk back to the car and buckle 2 kids in, get in start up and off I go, AND if I go and park in the carpark (which I shouldnt have to do and most of the time is full with staff cars) the staff think I'm doing a runner, they have actually came running out a couple of times.

So yeah it is a good idea, although I would prefer the good old fashioned type of service, the days when someone came out and did it for yu, although I'm ok doing it the way I am now, its very frustrating.

[Cheap6]

Provides hints to design refuelling stations, also for fluids of the future (e.g. hydrogen). Refuelling will be comfortable and safe even in adverse climate conditions or for dangerous fuels (e.g. hydrogen).

I think that this is the real motivation behind it; it's too dangerous to allow human beings to refuel (cryogenic) hydrogen.

$122 200. Hmmm.

[scrabet]

lol that was funny saw it on the news its a good idea but how lazy do u have to be to put fuell in yourself it doesnt take long to put the nozle in i dont see it working well

[levymetal]

how come it's dangerous to refill hydrogen? i thought it would have the same system as lpg... but i don't know anything about it.

also, because my car is dual fuel they 'squeezed' it into where the petrol cap is too, the machine would be unable to unscrew the cap because only i know that i must first remove the lpg cap then petrol. and even after that, petrol is a bitch to get back on... it's all so close

[scrabet]

yeh my mates car is like that and what botu the ppl that have a locking petrol cap

[Cheap6]

how come it's dangerous to refill hydrogen? i thought it would have the same system as lpg... but i don't know anything about it.

'Cos it's cryogenic = very cold. The pressures are higher too and I would expect that the hoses and connector would be commensurately heavier than those for LPG.