Japan’s busiest rail station tests robot bins

The bulky, googly-eyed devices have become a hit among tourists, many of whom stopped to take photos.(AFP) — The world’s busiest railway station, in the heart of Tokyo, is testing whether mobile robotic trash bins can ease sanitation workers’ workloads, a rail operator representative said Friday.Shinjuku Station is a sprawling transportation complex where multiple rail companies serve more than 2.7 million passengers daily. It holds the Guinness World Records title for the world’s busiest railway station.In a section of the station operated by East Japan Railway Co., the bins are emptied manually more than 10 times a day, although the number of wastebaskets has been reduced in recent years for cleanliness and security reasons.JR East is testing three automated bins, each standing just over 1 meter (3 feet) tall and moving at a cautious 20 centimeters (8 inches) per second.“We wanted to test how well something like this can operate automatically and safely in an environment like Shinjuku Station,” Shinya Kawamichi, a JR East research official, told AFP.“We want to see how much of a difference mobile trash bins that collect garbage make and whether people are actually willing to throw their trash into them,” he said.The trial project, which runs until late November, is testing the robots in the station’s perpetually hectic underground concourse, where they are designed to bring trash to human workers.Kawamichi said the robots are designed to be “slow so that people can put trash in them and so they can stop at any moment.”The company also wants to determine whether the robots can navigate busy crowds and gain acceptance among commuters, with an eye toward expanding the technology’s uses.The bulky, googly-eyed devices have become a hit among tourists, many of whom stopped to take photos.“The eyes are very cute,” said German train driver Chris Genseliein, 30, adding that he had difficulty finding trash bins in Japanese train stations.Despite being an enormous complex with two aboveground floors and a massive underground section, JR East’s portion of Shinjuku Station has only seven sets of trash and recycling bins.Some Japanese passengers said stations are kept clean because people take their trash home.Others welcomed the added convenience.“It’s just easier if you could throw things away while walking,” said university student Ryunosuke Noguchi, 22.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads