Heavy snow will not your problem anymore. The snowplow robot will take care of it. "The friendly-looking Yuki-taro armed with GPS and a pair of video cameras embedded in its eyes, the self-guided robot seeks out snow and gobbles it up into its large mouth. Yuki-taro's insides consist of a system that compresses the snow into hard blocks measuring 60 x 30 x 15 cm (24 x 12 x 6 in.), which Yuki-taro expels from its rear end. The blocks can then be stacked and stored until summer, when they can be used as an alternative source of refrigeration or cooling.
Yuki-taro is the result of nearly seven years of work by researchers from the Niigata Industrial Creation Organization (NICO), Research and Development, Inc. (RDI), Niigata Institute of Technology, Yamagata University and the Industrial Research Institute of Niigata Prefecture (IRI), who set out to design an environmentally-friendly robot that can operate by itself and support the elderly. In 2006, Yuki-taro received a Good Design Award in the small-to-medium sized enterprise category."
Snowplow Robot
Yuki-Taro is Even Armed GPS and Video Cameras
Trend Themes
1. Snowplow Robot Technology - The development of self-guided snowplow robots armed with advanced sensors and GPS technology presents an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the field of snow removal.
2. Snow Compression and Storage Systems - The innovation of snowplow robots incorporating snow compression and storage systems opens up possibilities for alternative sources of refrigeration or cooling, disrupting the traditional methods in the industry.
3. Environmentally-friendly Robot Design - The focus on creating environmentally-friendly robots that can operate autonomously not only supports the elderly but also offers opportunities for disruptive innovation in the robotics industry.
Industry Implications
1. Snow Removal - The introduction of self-guided snowplow robots can revolutionize the snow removal industry, increasing efficiency and reducing labor costs.
2. Refrigeration and Cooling - The integration of snow compression and storage systems into snowplow robots disrupts the refrigeration and cooling industry by providing an alternative and eco-friendly source of cooling during warmer seasons.
3. Robotics - The development of environmentally-friendly and autonomous snowplow robots represents a disruptive innovation in the robotics industry, with potential applications beyond snow removal.