The city of Bangor is spending $95,000 on a contract to rent a fleet of six robots to measure sidewalks across the city to ensure that they meet accessibility standards established by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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“Safe, walkable sidewalks connect residents to jobs, schools and each other. This assessment is one step in achieving our walkability and accessibility goals in a clear, efficient manner,” said Bangor Director of Engineering Jefferson Davis.
The city announced on July 2 that it would be contracting with the Oregon-based Daxbot company to provide six rental robots to measure sidewalks across the city.
Their initial statement did not reveal the cost of the program, but Eric Baron, the city’s assistant engineering director, reportedly revealed that the contract was just under $95,000 at a Monday event at the Bangor Public Library.
According to the city, the nearly $100k contract will perform such essential functions as measuring cross slopes, uplifts, and even curb-ramp geometry.
Those measurements will then be given to city officials who will use them to identify areas for improvement.
The six robots will survey a total of 150 miles of public sidewalks, with each robot covering a maximum of six miles per day. Officials anticipate that the full program will take five weeks.
The city also claimed that the data was “necessary” to ensure compliance with federal accessibility standards, making it unclear how, prior to the advent of Daxbot’s groundbreaking moves in robotics technology, the city was able to comply with those standards.
Officials explained that the robots will be adorned with reflective safety vests and urged residents to treat the robots as they would human road maintenance crews.
“Residents who encounter a Daxbot are encouraged to treat it as they would any road maintenance crew. A Daxbot may enter a standby mode while uploading sidewalk data or awaiting pickup as part of their normal operations,” the city said.
The robots will not collect any personal data of city residents, officials said.
The Maine Wire reached out to the city asking whether it is concerned about potential vandalism, and whether the city will be liable for any damage to the robots.
“The City has certainly considered the potential risk to the robots. We met with representatives from Daxbot to discuss our concerns prior to award. Daxbot actively monitors all deployed robots, and representatives from the company will be stationed locally for the duration of the project to provide support and respond to any issues. Regarding liability, the City is not responsible for any damage to the robots,” said Davis in a statement to The Maine Wire.
