Dutch inventors might have ushered in the return of the full-service station. Yet like so many other things being taken out of the hands of flesh and blood people, the new full-service could be an all-robot affair. The robot -- called the Tankpitstop robot -- is affixed to the bowser, and if it recognizes the make and model of car, and your gas cap doesn't need a key, it will open everything up and start pumping.
The creation is the brainchild of a gas station operator who said he saw a robot milking a cow, and figured that a robot could fill a car. Heck, if robots can build cars and fill their fluids, we figure there's no reason why they can't fill a tank. The question now is how to let drivers know that the robot knows how to fill your car. What you don't want is to pull up in your freshly-waxed ride and hear the robotic equivalent of "Hmmm, let's try this..." As it stands, the robot costs €75,000. No telling what a station's liability insurance will cost.
[Source: Reuters]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Yar @ Feb 5th 2008 7:29PM
Exactly what we need. A robot that will punch a hole in the side of your car and fill it with gas.
VP @ Feb 5th 2008 7:35PM
Next thing you know, somebody is going to invent a Robot that will go to the bathroom for you. Enough already!!
What is the robot going to do with the old school cars that have their tank behind the license plates? Just dump the gas into the open driver window?
Paul P. @ Feb 5th 2008 7:45PM
Gas stations in NJ are all full service, and we still pay some of the lowest gas prices in the country. It wouldn't make any difference here, though hopefully the robot would speak better English.
Greg @ Feb 7th 2008 3:50PM
The prices are kept low through reduced taxes on the gasoline. NJ maintains jobs for attendants by deliberately creating inefficiency in the economy. The legislature would never allow these machines because they would replace exactly the same jobs the stupid "full service only" law was enacted to maintain.
Taylor @ Feb 5th 2008 7:52PM
I like my car without extra holes and dents. Thanks.
Thedevil @ Feb 5th 2008 8:00PM
I dont always hit the right hole at first try , why would i trust a robot ? no thanks.
Aaron Nichols @ Feb 5th 2008 8:01PM
Hence the part "if it recognizes the make and model of the car"
Scoobyless @ Feb 5th 2008 8:09PM
Any one remember a particular brief sequence in BTTF Part 2?
;)
Tom @ Feb 5th 2008 8:14PM
I watched that the other day actually. It was a Texico station.
Ahura @ Feb 5th 2008 8:14PM
It won't punch a hole in your car because it knows where the right hole is..
"What is the robot going to do with the old school cars that have their tank behind the license plates?"
Almost no car here has that...
Video how it works: http://www.tankpitstop.com/index.php?pid=6
Zane @ Feb 6th 2008 12:27AM
No thank you very much. I'm filling a car, not an SUV. In the time it takes that stupid robot to fill my tank, I could've filled it up and gone my merry way.
Eek @ Feb 5th 2008 8:15PM
Return of full-service? I didn't know full service stations left. I know we still got 'em here in CT, my Mother swears by them. And that's all they have in New Jersey as well.
Either way this is a bad idea. Can't wait for all the new scratches and dents in the side of my truck from one of those.
Kevin @ Feb 5th 2008 8:16PM
I second what VP said. I'd like to see how that thing deals with my '73 Buick (filler behind the plate) OR my '07 STI (gotta release the fuel door from inside the car). And how does it know which octane rating to dump in? It do that using its database too? No thanks, I'll fill it myself.
Ed @ Feb 5th 2008 8:27PM
Can they can get it to automatically debit your account?
Mi key @ Feb 5th 2008 8:58PM
I guess Americas' Reading and Comprehension must be at an all time low with some of the comments on here.
Isn't Full-Service more than just pumping gas? This seems a little less than full-service to me.
musanti @ Feb 5th 2008 9:19PM
ONLY IF IT TURNS THE CAP PAST 1 CLICK
sleepybear619 @ Feb 5th 2008 9:42PM
The local shell station had one of these, as a test product I guess, about 4-5 years ago. it didn't look so robotic and had sensors everywhere to see the location of your cars tank/gascap.You still had to swipe your CC. You still had to press an octane button.You didn't have to get out of the car but kinda pointless if you ask me. Unless your hands are too delicate to squeeze the handle.
Never saw anyone using it....EVER
paul34 @ Feb 5th 2008 10:47PM
I remember being very, well, weirded out when I first discovered such a thing as a full-service station here in the US.
See, in Florida, we've always pumped our own gas, like true Americans (just kidding!). But seriously, we pump our own gas.
I also have my ways of
1) Not hitting the car (duh? But you'd be surprised how much trouble some people have)
2) Not dribbling or spilling gasoline all over the side of the car (which many people have trouble with)
Also, many new pumps + newer cars mean trouble. I had to stop pumping at BP stations since the pump would constantly click off - I'd usually end up wasting over a gallon of gas before I finally got it to where it would pump (a combination of pump-yoga and special flow restriction with the trigger).
Very annoying, and a waste of money (remember, every time you "click" past, you are paying for gas that just gets recovered back into the gas station's tanks!).
I have since started pumping at Hess since their pumps are significantly more reliable (and oddly enough, older!). Chevron pumps also do not seem to give me too much trouble, but I like to stick to one brand once I've chosen it, so I usually pump at the same Hess all the time.
Wow, talk about off-topic. Sorry!
Eek @ Feb 5th 2008 10:58PM
After watching the video, I really don't want that thing near my truck.
brn @ Feb 5th 2008 10:59PM
Full Service? Is it washing the windows and checking my other fluids?
I'd never use such a thing, but on a cold day in the upper midwest, my GF would use it in a heartbeat.