Residents walking through Hoboken may notice a new addition to the city’s sidewalks over the next month: Daxbot robots surveying streets and pedestrian pathways to help improve accessibility throughout the city.
The robots began operating Monday and are assessing sidewalks, curb ramps, crosswalks and walkways. City officials say the data collected will help identify accessibility challenges and guide future infrastructure improvements.
Many residents support the initiative, saying it could provide a more accurate picture of conditions that impact seniors, people with disabilities and parents pushing strollers.
"When you walk around with strollers, it's very easy for you to measure that things are not as paved as well as it could be,” said Hoboken resident Erika Sampaio. “Elderly will definitely suffer from tripping and falling, and I think that they're going to be able to measure this in a nicer way.”
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Others have raised concerns about privacy and the type of information the robots may gather while moving through public spaces.
“It's taking every people's picture and is putting information out there, and obviously not everyone wants that,” said Joe, a Hoboken resident.
City officials said the robots do not collect personal information. The devices are supervised at all times and are designed to yield to pedestrians while operating. Wearing high-visibility vests and traveling at walking speed, the robots use sensors to measure sidewalk width, slopes and other features that can affect accessibility.
“I don't see the downside,” one resident said.
Officials say the information gathered will be used to develop a new accessibility action plan as part of Hoboken’s updated Vision Zero initiative, helping create safer and more accessible streets for all residents.
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