Shinjuku is a major traffic hub in Tokyo (Japan), where many railway companies operate together, serving more than 2.7 million passengers per day. With a huge number of passengers, the station currently holds the Guinness Record for the busiest railway station in the world.
In the area operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), employees have to manually collect garbage more than 10 times a day. This work takes place in the context that the number of trash cans at the station has been reduced due to hygiene and security requirements. Currently, JR East's area only has 7 clusters of trash cans and recycling bins.
To find solutions to support employees, JR East is testing 3 automatic trash cans. Each device is more than 1m high with a fairly slow moving speed, about 20 cm/second so that passengers have enough time to dispose of trash and ensure safety in a crowded environment.
Mr. Shinya Kawamichi, head of research at JR East, said that the test is aimed at assessing the robot's automatic and safe operation in crowded environments such as Shinjuku station.
In addition to the effectiveness of garbage collection support, JR East also monitors how passengers interact and use devices during travel.
The trial program lasts until the end of November. During this time, the robots will move in crowded underground corridors, receive garbage from passengers and be taken to the collection area of sanitation workers.
Not only serving the purpose of collecting garbage, devices with quite large bodies and funny eyes quickly attracted the attention of tourists. Many people stopped to take pictures with the robots when they encountered them in the station.
Chris Genseliein, a 30-year-old German train driver, expressed interest in the robot's design. According to him, these devices are also quite useful when trash cans are often not easy to find at train stations in Japan.
