Remote Controlled Trash Barrel Robots Tested At Astor Place Plaza By Cornell Tech Researchers - Do You Find Them Friendly Or Creepy, Will Cornell Tech Trash Barrel Robots Be Coming To Roosevelt Island Next?

In a study by researchers from @CornellCIS and @cornell_tech, most people in a #Manhattan plaza welcomed trash barrel #Robots and happily gave them garbage, though some people found them to be creepy. @wendyju @TheOfficialACM https://t.co/9gpeenlGq1

— Cornell Chronicle (@CornellNews) April 19, 2023

According to the Cornell Chronicle

Cornell researchers built and remotely controlled two trash barrel robots – one for landfill waste and one for recycling – at a plaza in Manhattan to see how people would respond to the seemingly autonomous robots. Most people welcomed them and happily gave them trash, though a minority found them to be creepy. The researchers now have plans to see how other communities behave. If you’re a resident of New York City, these trash barrel robots may be coming soon to a borough near you. 

A team led by Wendy Ju, associate professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and the Technion, and a member of the Department of Information Science in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, constructed the robots from a blue or gray barrel mounted on recycled hoverboard parts. They equipped the robots with a 360-degree camera and operated them using a joystick....

Click here for the full Cornell Chronicle article. 

Watch the Cornell Tech Trash Barrel Robots in action at Astor Place Plaza.

Where's the best area to test out the Trash Barrel Robots on Roosevelt Island? How about a test on the weekend at the Riverwalk Commons?

In 2019, Professor Ju gave a talk to the Roosevelt Island community about human interaction with automation, focusing on self driving cars. Here's some of the conversation.

Video of Professor's Ju's full presentation, including a story about a visit with David Letterman and Melinda Gates is here.