Australia: The local rail equipment manufacturer has designed them in collaboration with Deakin University.
One of the two prototypes is intended for scrubbing and mopping floors. The other one is meant for cleaning seats and windows.
The robots are equipped with a specially developed navigation system allowing for orientation in the complex environment of a train interior, including manoeuvring under seats and between handrails. There is also an in-built obstacle detection system able to recognize both fixed and mobile objects.
A robot for cleaning seats and windows. Source: Downer
The prototypes have been tested on Australia’s trains maintained by Downer. Now the company’s team is preparing for the next stage of the project, which will include optimising cleaning duration and expanding functionality of the robots.
A robot for scrubbing and mopping floors. Source: Downer
It is worth noting that such robots are not a novelty. Since 2021, train floors in Singapore have been mopped by cleaning robots from LionsBot, a local company. A mobile robot for seats cleaning was also exhibited by the German research institute IFAM at InnoTrans 2022.
