European Custom Installer

System Integration for the Connected Home

Petrol Station Network Staffed by Robots

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It took the Dutch to invent a car-fuelling robot inspired by the milking of cows. "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," says developer and petrol station operator Nico van Staveren.

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. The 75,000 euro robot is the first of its kind, working by recognizing the car on arrival at the filling station and using a database of fuel cap designs and fuel types.

It works for cars whose tank can be opened without a key, and whose contours and dimensions have been recorded to avoid scratching.

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