Assoc. Professor Matthew Spenko Shares Concerns about Refueling Robots in the Chicago Tribune

Armour College of Engineering (ACE) Assoc. Professor of Mech. Engineering Matthew Spenko, Ph.D. was quoted in a recent article in the Chicago Tribune entitled: Full-service Gas with a Robot Attendant?

The article featured a robotic pump for refueling cars designed by Fuelmatics Systems AB, based in Stockholm. In the article Dr. Spenko declares his concerns about the obstacles that the robots would face outside the lab.

This day in age people are used to having automated machines do many menial tasks for them, but is the world ready for the first robotic gas pump? The more important question says Dr. Spenko is whether or not the technology is ready for the real world. “A robotic fueling system could be ready for prime time; the technology is there, but the reason you haven’t seen this already on the market is that when you bring it out of the lab into a real-life environment, things happen. Painting robots and welding robots are fantastic, but I wouldn’t put my money on robotic refueling until you have tested it in the polar vortex in Chicago and snow is blowing in front of the machine.”

I think we can all agree that is a valid concern after the grueling winter experienced by the Midwest and East Coast this year.