Seeking agility and efficiency in vehicle supply, Sinopec developed a robot attendant project that could be the end of the profession in some countries. The robot can serve the driver in just 3 minutes
The Petrochemical Company of China (Sinopec), is already carrying out the first tests of the first robot attendant in the world, which was created by the company itself. The company announced the first phase of testing at the beginning of the month and operations with the robot attendant are taking place in the city of Nanning. The robot's activities should save time, bringing greater convenience to drivers who need to fill up their vehicle quickly. In addition, the service of the new robot will be able to replace humans in the profession.
Read other related news
Refueling in just 3 minutes
To use the robot, the driver must download the Sinopec application and request the service, the attendant robot will be responsible for identifying the fuel tank cap, opening the cap, inserting the gun and completing the operation by returning to the original position.
All these stages of the gas station robot are performed in just 3 minutes, using resources that make the project more intelligent and capable of performing such tasks. Among the technologies are facial recognition and satellite positioning systems that offer functions such as:
- dynamic monitoring
- automatic identification
- simulation operation
- precise positioning
- Sharing Information
- real-time feedback
There are also other functions that generate greater safety for the driver, such as the abnormal intrusion alarm and also an emergency stop for out-of-hour departures.
Volkswagen has developed technology similar to China's gas station robot
Although Sinopec's robot attendant is the first in the world, and could put an end to the profession, the German automaker Volkswagen already presented a similar technology in December 2020. The model that was presented by the automaker was aimed only at electric models and was called Beep Boop.
Like the Sinopec gas station robot, all communication takes place through an application. In the prototype presented by the German automaker, the robot attendant opens the lid of the charging socket, connects the electric model to the energy supply unit and then returns to the charging center.
Possible end of the profession in Brazil
This September, a PL was presented by the federal deputy, Kim Kataguiri (DEM-SP), which seeks to end the gas station attendant profession in Brazil and also carry out a series of new adaptations at gas stations. According to the deputy, with the dismissal of professionals, the idea is to lower fuel prices and also make the stations more modern, making it similar to the modality existing in the United States.
Therefore, with the PL, the service stations would have to make adaptations to the self-service process, which does not use the activities of the gas station attendant profession. The deputy claims that the PL can generate dismissals, but claims that there is a discussion with industry categories so that the adaptation goes through a transition process, which can last about 5 years.
According to the deputy, the main increases in fuel prices are not linked only to operations at gas stations, but due to the increase in the dollar and taxation.
