Dutch inventors have built the first robotic fuel pump which can fill a petrol tank without the driver needing to leave the car.
The £55,000 machine is fitted to the side of a fuel pump and automatically locates the filler cap when a vehicle pulls in.
The robot then matches the design against its database of cars and can unscrew the filler cap and deliver the fuel.
"I was on a farm and I saw a robotic arm milking a cow. If a robot can do that then why can't it fill a car tank?" developer and petrol station operator Nico van Staveren told Reuters. "Drivers needn't get dirty hands or smell of petrol again."
The 'Tankpitstop' robot should be in operation at a small number of filling stations in the Netherlands by the end of the year.
A video of the robot in action can be seen on the Tankpitstop website.
University wins $14m contract for autonomous vehicle 03 Dec 2007
Company on track for commercial launch of battery swappable car in 2010 12 May 2008
Norfolk plant to use locally grown sugar beet to produce 70m litres of bioethanol 27 Nov 2007Utility reported to have developed fast charging technology capable of delivering 40Km of motoring on a five-minute charge 12 Aug 2008
Lightning GTS can outrun a Jaguar XKR from 0-60mph 10 Jul 2008
China-based Suntech Holdings thinks demand will still exceed supply 10 Oct 2008
Orders for its wind turbines were up 50 per cent year on year, the company claims 10 Oct 2008
The company's Tower Tube design has been updated with wind energy technology 10 Oct 2008
More news
The entire US financial system may be on the ropes, but according to Richard Seireeni, the recently formed "Salmon Nation" financial network is doing just fine 09 Oct 2008
BusinessGreen.com casts its eye over the simplest means of harnessing some geothermal power 08 Oct 2008 More in-depth
Post your comment
Send an email to the Business Green editor at feedback@businessgreen.com
