'Volvo Robots' to collect garbage from homes in the future

It seems like Volvo has taken a pledge to improve its automation technology. The company has decided to collaborate with a number of companies and universities in the US and Sweden to develop autonomous garbage disposal robots, a project dubbed robot-based autonomous refuse handling, or ROAR.

The autonomous let-me-pick-up-garbage robots could hit the streets and knock at the doorsteps as soon as in early 2016, reports Gizmag. Under the ROAR project, the company would develop robots that will assist the truck operators by lifting heavy material for them, in addition to picking up and emptying the refuse bins by itself. However, the robots will be guided and monitored by the driver.

Among all the universities that Volvo has collaborated with, Penn State university is expected to work on the control panel, communication system and the graphics. While students at Mälardalens University will design the robot, Chalmers University students are delegated to develop an operating system for the entire robotic function. According to Volvo, the waste disposal company Renova will be handling the vehicle which will be used to carry out the operation.

By developing autonomous robots, the ROAR project will free people of the task of lifting and emptying heavy trash receptacles. Volvo says that the autonomous trash collection is just a beginning for the company and that the technology could be applied to a number of other fields.

“Within Volvo Group we foresee a future with more automation. This project provides a way to stretch the imagination and test new concepts to shape transport solutions for tomorrow," said Per-Lage Götvall, the ROAR project lead, in a statement.

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