Tankpitstop- Robotic Arm to fill gas in your Car

By Andrew | February 7, 2008

At last I am writing about something that I can proudly call a gadget…I guess it’s worth the title of –‘Gadget of the Day’!
I am talking about these unique robotic hands called Tankpitstop, that are busy filling fuel in vehicles at the petrol pumps in Netherlands. Man, I wish even we had a few of these!
The Tankpitstop robotic arm is the brainchild of Dutch inventors, which uses a wide range of highly effective sensors together with a car database that guides the arm with the correct location of the car gas flap, open it, unscrew it and fill in the gas tank- all on it’s own sans any human aid. (Psst! Why I’m telling that, robots are supposed to work like that!)
Any guesses what inspired the designer to come up with a robotic solution Tankpitstop, to fill in the gas tank? It was from a robotic arm milking a cow! Great observing eye, Nici van Straveren, must say!
Currently installed only at Neatherlands, Staveren hopes to se his wonder arm installed at gas stations around Netherlands.
Till that, we hope, he’ll be able to hone Tankpitstop even for the cars that need a key for access the tank, which it is not adept at currently.
The cost that the inventors incurred to bring Tankpitstop into action is $1111000.
Via: Reuters