An AI-powered street sweeper at work near the Civic Center in Futian District. Li Zhong
Tourists visiting Shenzhen during the Spring Festival holiday were not only impressed by the city's clean urban environment but also captivated by its AI-powered street sweeper machines.
According to Shenzhen Evening News, Shenzhen has over 100 AI-powered street sweeper machines in operation across its streets.
Last year, Shenzhen established a nearly 3-square-kilometer demonstration area for AI-based street cleaning, encompassing Lianhua Hill Park and the Civic Center in Futian District. This area serves as a showcase for enterprises to exhibit their AI-based products, supplied by both local companies and those from other cities.
For the past year, an AI-powered street sweeper has been working alongside Xie Julan, a sanitation worker, in four parks near Shenzhen Book City CBD Store in Futian. Xie, who began her career as a sanitation worker in Shenzhen at the age of 19, saw a significant change in her work routine with the introduction of these AI-powered street sweepers.
Xie said that the trees surrounding the square of Shenzhen Book City CBD Store mainly consist of Terminalia neotaliala, a species of tree in the family Combretaceae.
"Now is the season of new leaves, and a large number of leaves drop every day. The pavement is usually covered by leaves less than an hour after old ones are removed. With the help of the cleaning robot, leaf removal is more frequent. We can also conserve our energy to do other cleaning work," said Xie.
The cleaning robot working alongside Xie was developed by Shenzhen Yunjie Technology Co. Ltd. Wang Hairui, an operations staffer at the company, told Shenzhen Evening News that the robot can be programmed for regular automatic operation and controlled remotely by technicians or sanitation workers via a mobile phone.
Equipped with sensors to avoid pedestrians and other obstacles, the autonomous robot also features an anti-collision braking device. Moreover, an emergency stop button located at the top of the machine allows for manual emergency braking.