Darmstadt is testing in the pedestrian a self-driving sweeper. The field trial was the first in the public space nationwide, said the representatives of the German city on Wednesday over the three-day trial, up to and including Thursday in the city centre. The prototype has been developed by the Berlin-based Startup Enway.
The sweeper with electric drive is orientated in the test area by using cameras, laser measurements, and a 3-D card Inside. Therefore, you need neither Internet nor GPS, how Enway co-founder Julian Nordt said. The machine is a two-to-three kilometres per hour on the road. It weighs 500 kilograms, is 1.50 meters long and 1.10 meters wide.
For small children in no danger, the manufacturer
says the device, obstacles, Approaches, to consider it, said Nordt. It stop about a Meter in front of a suddenly appearing child. In the case of a dove in the distance is low. Until the machine can record the operation, it’ll still take about five to ten years. Many legal issues are still unclear.
street sweepers are needed, according to the company, if the machines are in use. You should support human workers only. The potential financial savings, the Darmstadt-based management are not quantified.
Hamburg, Germany, has already gained experience with a cleaning robot, the wet-wipes. Such a device has been tested on the U-Bahn-Gesellschaft in a Station.
nis/dpa