The gigantic step between filling up your own gas tank and letting a machine do it for you has been a long time coming, but a cooperative effort between Husky and Fuelmatics has finally produced an automatic fuel-filling robot. The technology was demonstrated at the 2013 Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) convention in Atlanta.
After the robot locates the fuel filler cap and uses a suction cup to open it, the machine then inserts one of three nozzles into the vehicle's fuel neck through a capless insert (which is becoming more common in modern vehicles) and begins fueling. Once the tank is topped off, fueling stops via a vacuum-based shutoff system. Pump time is reduced by 30 percent using the robot, according to Husky.
"We feel this will be a great product for the future," says Peter Ward of Glasgow Equipment Services, a former president of PEI.
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