The Washington D.C. Department of Transportation (DDOT) this week launched a robot that it says will help improve the district’s infrastructure.
While some pedestrians assumed the robot’s purpose is to issue tickets, this isn’t the case according to German Vigil, DDOT spokesperson; the red rover is part of a pilot program to improve the district’s infrastructure, starting with street signs.
“Normally, there are hundreds of our staff that, every year, go out into the streets to make sure the signs are correct,” Vigil says. “This is just an added component to make sure that we’re able to maintain it.”
For example, if a street sign has fallen or is damaged, the goal is for the robot to collect that data and report it to DDOT before a human being even has the chance to call 311.
There is only one of this government-employed Wall-E in the city, and for now, he’ll be stationed in Navy Yard. That’s because it’s a “newer, transitioning corridor with a lot of new street signs,” Vigil says.
The pilot will take a year and a half, and is a partnership with the California-based company Kiwibot, which was founded in 2017 as a robot delivery service.
The robot will not replace any of the department’s current staff, according to Vigil. “There’s always an operator within the vicinity,” he says.
When the pilot wraps up, DDOT will make a decision about whether to expand its robot arsenal. The department is considering sidewalk maintenance as a next step.
If DDOT finds that the program was effective, it could deploy some more droids to DCs streets. Where exactly they would go is still up in the air.
“At this moment, we just want to see how it’s going to work,” Vigil says.
Source: NBC Washington, Washingtonian.com
