AI Incorporated, which is a Canadian robotics and artificial intelligence research company, has released a design for an autonomous refuse robot, which is considered a new application for mobile robotics, the company says.

The new AI enhanced robotics system introduces a device that can autonomously travel to the curbside and wait for the pickup truck at pre-scheduled times. Scheduling is completed using an app, and a user can also use the app to control the robot in the event that it needs help with navigation, or if it gets stuck.

According to AI Incorporated, this invention will render humans emptying trash cans “a thing of the past,” as the bins will simply leave their post to be emptied when it is time for pickup.

“Robots are the perfect solution for eliminating those tasks which humans do not wish to conduct,” says Ali Afrouzi, CEO of AI Incorporated and bObsweep Inc. 

Afrouzi adds that thanks to the company's Quantum Slam Operating System (Q-OS) Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology, “it is now economically viable to automate trash cans that autonomously navigate to the curbside when the truck arrives!”

To pioneer in a new generation of robots, AI Incorporated plans on using its SLAM technology combined with deep learning. The company says that the autonomous refuse receptacle robot is an application for its Versatile Self Localizing Autonomous Platforms (VSLAP).

AI Incorporated says that these robotic devices contain a comprehensive navigation system, which uses a combination of several technologies, including SLAM, deep reinforcement learning, and computer vision. With these technologies, these devices will be able to map their environment, travel autonomously, communicate with other devices, and monitor their internal contents with an extensive array of sensors, according to AI Incorporated.