Japanese railway company comes up with a cute solution to one of the biggest problems for overseas tourists.
As much as Japan is all about convenience and the spirit of hospitality, one thing that continues to confound visitors to Japan is the lack of trash cans. This can be particularly frustrating when you’re travelling and enjoying the sights, because one piece of trash can quickly accumulate when you have no way to properly get rid of it.
It’s a problem that has long affected tourists as they eat and drink their way around all the different neighbourhoods, but now East Japan Railway (JR East) is coming to the rescue with a uniquely Japanese solution that not just solves the problem but is also fun to use.
The answer comes in the form of a rubbish bin that comes to you. Though that might sound crazy, it really is what the company is proposing, as it will be literally rolling out several mobile rubbish bin robots inside Shinjuku Station.
Each robot is designed to look like a train, with wide eyes on the front to attract the attention of passersby, and small nods to Shinjukuma, JR Shinjuku Station’s bear character, on the wrap.
The robot will automatically travel around the underground concourse on the first basement level – inside the East, West, Central East and Central West ticket gates – with openings on its sides for people to discard rubbish into as it passes by.
▼ The circular route.
The robot itself is an autonomous delivery robot capable of travelling both indoors and outdoors, developed by U.S. company Cartken and operated by Melco Mobility Solutions and Mitsubishi Electric.
JR East says the trial aims to improve service quality at stations while also making cleaning work more efficient, but the bigger question being addressed is whether a robot can actually navigate the crowds inside Shinjuku Station, which is often likened to a video game dungeon due to its expansive, labyrinthine layout.
The trial will examine how safely the robot can travel using its sensors and other onboard technology, as well as what problems arise when the station gets crowded. JR East will also look at whether the robot affects the movement of passengers through the concourse and how readily people accept the idea of having a mobile rubbish bin robot operating inside the station.
Shinjuku Station is known for being the busiest railway station in the world, so JR East is jumping into the deep end with the robot by trialling it under the most congested conditions. If the robot gets the green light after navigating this type of environment, we may see these little characters roaming around more stations in Japan in future.
For now, the trial is scheduled to take place on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., from 8 September to 20 November inside Shinjuku Station’s first-floor basement concourse. So if you have plans that will take you through the station during your travels, it might be worth holding onto your rubbish in the hopes of a robot encounter.
Source, images: Press release
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