Iron order: robots sent to clean up a Moscow park

The capital's 50th Anniversary of October Park was unusually crowded on Saturday. Volunteers with bags and gloves gathered in the alleys, small cars with brushes and containers moved nearby, and passers-by stopped to see how the equipment worked among people. This is how the first "Robowork" took place in Moscow — a city clean-up with the participation of domestic unmanned vehicles.

Robots have taken up mops

More than 300 volunteers, together with robots, cleared an area of 28,000 square meters in an hour and a half. For the capital, the action became both an environmental event and a test platform for technologies that the city is considering for use in the field of public utilities.

The main principle of the clean—up is the use of Russian solutions. Several developments were shown at the site: cleaning robots, autonomous trolleys and even "smart bins" with elements of artificial intelligence.

According to Maxim Avdeev, CEO of FC BAS, such events are needed primarily for testing equipment outside laboratories and exhibition halls.

— We are looking at how robots interact with people, how they behave on different types of coatings, whether they can withstand the load, and how effective they are in real operation. As the solutions are tested, they will improve and scale," he promised.

The 50th Anniversary of October Park was chosen for the first campaign because the Pixel cleaning robot is already being tested here. This made it possible to show the technique in a familiar environment.

A cleaner on wheels

Pixel was generally one of the main participants in the clean-up. It is a compact autonomous cleaning machine. During the campaign, she moved along the paths, drove around people and performed standard tasks to clean the pavement.

Such devices are currently being tested in five parks in Moscow, including VDNKh. Their special feature is replaceable modules. Depending on the season, the robot can use brushes, vacuum cleaners, irrigation systems or winter snow removal equipment.

Alexander Ulanov, Deputy General Director of the Moscow Innovation Cluster Foundation, noted that the introduction of unmanned vehicles into the housing and communal services sector has been underway for more than two years.

—Cleaning is a priority for us, because there are already ready—made universal solutions," he said.

According to him, the task of such projects is to understand how technology can improve the efficiency of cleaning and reduce the amount of manual labor.

No less interesting was the "smart urn". It looks like a regular container, but it has a computer vision system installed inside that recognizes the type of waste and categorizes it.

According to the developer of the project Vadim Medyanik, the device now distinguishes up to 11 types of garbage — for example, plastic, cardboard and metal. In the future, this figure is planned to increase to 100 species.

The urn works independently, without an Internet connection, and is powered by a regular 220 V network. According to the developers, such systems can be used in offices, shopping malls and other premises where primary waste sorting is required.

The first batch will amount to about 100 devices, and there are already pre-orders from Moscow.

So far, robots complement public services rather than being able to completely replace humans. They are best suited for repetitive tasks such as cleaning paths, collecting garbage, transporting inventory, and working on large flat areas.

Where quick decision-making is required, work in difficult weather conditions, or cleaning hard-to-reach areas, a person is still needed.

According to Maxim Avdeev, robotics will develop gradually. At first, cars are likely to spread more widely in parks, enclosed areas and in spaces with predictable environments, and then in other areas.

— We are already seeing this process in retail, logistics, and self-service cash registers. The urban environment will be the next stage," he stressed.

Moscow as a testing ground

For the city, such projects are a way to test whether new solutions are suitable for everyday use. If the pilot programs show results, the number of such equipment in public spaces may increase.

Alexander Ulanov noted that there are already a number of Russian platforms on the market, and artificial intelligence, lidars, computer vision and autonomous navigation are becoming key technologies.

"We expect that the share of fully Russian robots will increase in the coming years," he said.

The first "Robowork" showed that unmanned vehicles for cleanliness are gradually moving out of the demonstration format into practical use. So far, such machines work alongside people and solve a limited range of tasks, but city services are already considering them as one of the working tools.