Marina Bay, one of Singapore’s iconic landmarks, is now home to autonomous road cleaners. The electric Robosweepers, developed by Chinese company WeRide, have begun operations after receiving approval from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority. This marks the first commercial deployment of autonomous sanitation vehicles in the city.
The Robosweeper S6 and S1 are now in operation, with the S6 tasked with nightly cleaning of Marina Coastal Drive from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., and the S1 focusing on daytime cleaning of non-motorized lanes and surrounding areas of the Esplanade.
The S1, launched earlier this year, is described as the world’s first Level 4 autonomous sanitation vehicle, capable of handling various cleaning tasks, including garbage collection, while navigating obstacles and maintaining close proximity to road edges.
The deployment follows a collaboration between WeRide and local environmental services company Chye Thiam Maintenance (CTM), and after a series of tests, the vehicles received their operating licenses.
While the current deployment involves fixed routes, Minister for Transport, Chee Hong Tat, has indicated that future trials could explore more complex routes, depending on the outcomes of the current tests.
WeRide’s success in Singapore is part of its broader expansion strategy, which includes previous deployments in several Chinese cities and a recent permit to test autonomous vehicles nationwide in the United Arab Emirates. The company aims to leverage the Singapore trial to further its efforts to deploy autonomous road cleaners in more cities globally.
