Carriage cleaning robot to cleanse hard-to-reach places

Developed over two years with funding from RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board), the robot has been designed for nationwide deployment to help human counterparts by cleaning the spaces between and under the seats.

According to statistics from ORR (Office of Rail and Road), 182 million UK rail passenger journeys were made in 2021-22 Q1 on national rail services despite ongoing restrictions. Passengers do, however, want a higher standard of cleanliness on their railways. In a 2020 survey of over 50,000 UK rail passengers, a quarter said they were dissatisfied with the levels of cleanliness inside trains.

In a statement, project leader Dr Mustafa Suphi Erden, National Robotarium, said: “With the daily pressure on rail services, it’s essential that trains are cleaned as fast and as efficiently as possible. However, at present, this process is done entirely by hand requiring a significant amount of time for the cleaning personnel to collect each waste item one-by-one from under and in-between the seats.