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Burleson has become the first city in Texas to participate in a program that uses robots to improve the accessibility of city sidewalks.<\/p>\n
Emily Holshouser<\/p>\n
Burleson has become the first city in Texas to participate in a program that uses robots to improve the accessibility of city sidewalks.<\/p>\n
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, cities are required to assess the accessibility of sidewalks for things like cracked pavement, tree roots, and other obstructions that can make it harder for people with disabilities to get around.<\/p>\n
That work is often done by people who have to get on their hands and knees, and it takes a long time to perform \u2014 but one company wants to change that.<\/p>\n
The \u201cDaxbot,\u201d as it\u2019s called, is an \u201curban service robot\u201d developed and assembled in the U.S. by the Oregon-based company of the same name. The model was created about five years ago, said Daxbot representative Mason Reeves.<\/p>\n
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Daxbots were deployed in Burleson in January to traverse roughly 200 miles of city sidewalks and deliver a report that will be used by the city to allocate resources to improve those sidewalks.<\/p>\n
The robots look similar to food delivery robots or surveillance robots \u2014 which Daxbot also develops. They have a head that displays eyes on a screen, blinking and sometimes smiling while it moves around. It looks friendly, which is the point, said Andy Craig, vice president of sales at Daxbot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really trying to cast a vision of \u2018this is what robots can and should be \u2014 you know, friendly, helpful,\u201d Craig said. \u201cOur design is supposed to be somewhat reminiscent of a well-trained service animal.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Daxbot does significantly more than deliver your Postmates order or patrol a city block. The accessibility robots are covered in cameras and sensors that can take data down to the centimeter and collect location-based information that will be used by the city later. The robot can even measure depth perception to create extremely precise measurements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the robots are doing, because they\u2019re rolling down the sidewalk, is they\u2019re basically feeling every bump that someone in a wheelchair would feel,\u201d Craig said. \u201cYou\u2019re getting the continuous measurements for both slope and uplift, you know, as well as the continuous readings on the sidewalk width, which is important because you need the accessible path of travel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Daxbots are just one component of a $475,000 \u201ctransition plan\u201d contract with Kimley-Horn approved by the Burleson City Council last year.<\/a> The plan is required for most cities that receive federal funding. The price tag for that contract covers the entire plan, not just the robots.<\/p>\n Under the agreement with Kimley-Horn, the Daxbots have aggregated data on sidewalks at dozens of city buildings and parks.<\/p>\n Although Burleson is the first Texas city to get the Daxbots, they have been used to conduct these accessibility assessments at UT Austin<\/a> and UT El Paso<\/a>, and in other states.<\/p>\n As for concerns about security and privacy \u2014 the Daxbot is, after all, covered in cameras \u2014 the company said that the robots do not record footage unless there is a malfunction or another issue. Additionally, the robots rarely see much of anything except for sidewalks. It might catch your feet or your front yard, but that\u2019s about it, Daxbot said.<\/p>\n The results of the Daxbot assessments won\u2019t be available for several months, Phillips said. But the city has been pleased with the program so far \u2014 and residents will be sad to say goodbye.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have received the robots really well in the community there,\u201d Craig said. \u201cI know that Burleson has been talking about having a robot party so that people can say goodbye to them.\u201d<\/p>\n The program will be wrapping up soon and the robots will be taken off city streets. After that, the data will be compiled into a report.<\/p>\n