Panasonic begins trial of mobility robots service

Robots literally rule. In Tokyo, at the Takanawa station, trials of a new service for passengers with limited mobility have started. The service is a tandem of robots, an electric wheelchair with autonomous tracking function. The devices move independently one after another, can recognize obstacles in the form of other people, brake and slow down, and their goal is to safely and comfortably deliver the passenger to the destination point.

The tests are being carried out by the device developer Panasonic Corporation and Panasonic Production Engineering Co., Ltd., in association with JR East Group. Starting in July, testing will last until September 2020.

The test site is the closed area of the new Takanawa railway station, which was opened in March 2020 along the JR Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines. The work involves three devices, the lead robot is controlled by a station employee, while the others follow him in a column.

In the future, it will be an unmanned service from fully automated devices, which can be used not only as transport at train stations or airports, but also for excursions. The robots "speak" in Japanese and English, but the developers plan to add other languages for the convenience of foreign tourists.