NOT THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER: A Solution To A Problem That Should Not Exist
Nico van Staveren, a Dutch gas station owner-turned-inventor, has devised a robotic arm that can fill ‘er up for you. When a car pulls up to the pump, the €75,000 ($111,100) device checks it against a database that includes the make and model’s contours and dimensions, fuel cap designs and type of fuel recommended by the manufacturer. Then, with the aid of sensors, the robotic arm extends from the gas pump, opens the flap covering the fuel tank cap, unscrews the cap, picks up the fuel nozzle and directs it towards the tank opening, inserts it into the opening and delivers the fuel. It is unclear from the Reuters report on which this post is based whether the robot screws the cap back on and closes the flap before retracting itself.
Never mind that a human gas station attendant can do the job much more quickly and efficiently – which means the station can sell more gas to more customers – assuming the attendant makes, say, $20,000 per year (without bennies, since the state provides them), two attendants can work for nearly three years for the cost of a single pump outfitted with a robotic arm. Usually, automation leads to increased efficiency, productivity and profit. Not this time.
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