Pixel (robot cleaner)

2024

Beginning of application in St. Petersburg

In St. Petersburg, tests began on the first unmanned cleaning robot in Russia, called "Pixel." This innovative device, developed by the Russian company Avtonomika, is designed to clean city streets and parks. This became known in mid-August 2024.

According to the St. Petersburg TV channel, the Pixel robot is capable of performing a wide range of tasks, including sweeping sidewalks, wet cleaning and processing road surfaces with deicing materials. It runs on a battery, making it environmentally friendly and economical to operate. In summer, the battery lasts for 16 hours of continuous operation, and in winter - for 10 hours.

source = Autonomics

According to the developers, Pixel has already shown its effectiveness in capital parks such as Kuzminki and Sokolniki, where since the beginning of 2024 ten such cars have been involved in regular cleaning. Now its capabilities are being tested in St. Petersburg.

According to the vice-governor of St. Petersburg Yevgeny Razumishkin, the city authorities see great potential in using unmanned equipment to serve large garden and park areas and other public areas. Tests will continue in both summer and winter to assess all aspects of the device and provide the developer with the necessary recommendations.

"Pixel" has several modes of operation: manual, in which the operator controls the device using a joystick, as well as autonomous, when the robot follows a pre-programmed route and "follow me" mode, in which the robot and the operator work together. The machine is equipped with a machine vision system that includes lidars, radars and cameras, which allows it to safely bypass obstacles and stop in front of people or animals.^[1]

Beginning of use in Moscow parks

On February 12, 2024, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that he was going to work on a "permanent basis" of Pixel autonomous cleaning robots. 10 devices remove walking paths in the parks "Kuzminki," "Sokolniki" and the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution.

Unmanned vehicles are equipped with attachments, which allows them to function in almost any weather. In winter, they can clear snow, and in summer, sweep and wash paths. Mechanical cleaners move at a speed of 5 km/h, at maximum power they can develop it twice, up to 10 km/h. They work from an electric battery, the charge of which lasts for 16 hours.

source = Sergey Sobyanin's official website

Robots receive route tasks through the dispatch center, after completing the shift, they independently return to the base. At the same time, cars are almost silent, can clean the streets at night, and thanks to power supply, "they make a tangible contribution to environmental protection," Sobyanin added. In addition, built-in radars and stereo cameras make them safe for humans and animals.

According to the mayor of Moscow, the tests of "Pixels" were successful, so the city authorities decided to leave the robots on an ongoing basis and scale the project: increase their number to 12, and the number of cleaning sites to five.

The developer plans to enter mass production by the second half of 2024. Thanks to this, it is possible to begin the gradual introduction of unmanned harvesting equipment in the urban economy, Sobyanin said on his website.

The general director of the company Autonomics"" (developer of "Pixels") Alexei Sividov believes that the robot will not compete with tractors Belarus"," "" and KamAZ other large-sized equipment and this is rather an intermediate solution between the janitor and medium-sized cleaners of Moscow sidewalks controlled by a person. He estimates the cost of the European medium-sized machine used in at To Moscow 30 million, rubles while the Pixel costs about 15.5 million rubles. "^[2]

2023: Launch of a robot on the streets of Moscow

On April 30, 2023, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the launch of Russia's first cleaning robot in the city. We are talking about a device called "Pixel," which was developed by the capital's company "Autonomica" together with Belarusian partners.

According to Sobyanin, a robot cleaner can do wet cleaning and sweep sidewalks for 16 hours. It has replaceable attachments - this allows you to use the robot all year round, he stressed.

Robot cleaner "Pixel"

It is noted that the software control, body and structures of the robot are made in Russia, design elements and control systems are developed with Belarusian colleagues, the Moscow mayor added.

The first shift in real conditions "Pixel" left for the territory of VDNKh. In addition, Pixel was tested for a long time while snow was still lying in the capital. Its design allows you to fix any attachments "according to the weather." After that, the necessary program is launched - from the dump of snow to the vacuum cleaner. The size and power of the robot are designed for the Moscow climate - both in hot and frosty times. The robot itself can learn with the help of a digital double of Moscow streets, so that topographic cretinism clearly does not threaten it.

The "brains" of "Pixel" include freelance situations. Machine vision allows you to recognize both living beings and any other obstacles. The eyes of the "communal" are numerous sensors, lidars and radars, thanks to which the robot will not go to a passer-by or beat a parked car, trying to drive along a given route.

According to the developers, "Pixel" was specially made below the average adult height so that passers-by could see what was behind the equipment (this is one of the elements of passive safety). Also, the robot will be equipped with a soft alarm, which will warn passers-by that smart equipment without a driver is passing nearby. Its maximum speed is 10 km/h, and during cleaning - about 5 km/h.^[3]

Notes