TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Have you lost or forgotten something on a Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train? ArmStrong can help you retrieve it at the lost property office within 30 seconds.
Each year, passengers lose 300,000 items on the capital’s public transportation system, making it extremely difficult to locate lost belongings, CNA reported. On Friday (Dec. 4), a partial solution to the problem was introduced.
A robotic arm dubbed ArmStrong started work, locating an item and taking it to the service desk of the lost-and-found office within 30 seconds, instead of the average of eight minutes it takes a human.
The arm is extremely flexible and locates its target with a QR code, making accurate retrieval and transportation possible, according to MRT officials. The system will apply to small but valuable items, such as smartphones and credit cards, which form over a third of the number of lost objects.
In another development, passengers who have linked a special app to their MRT card will receive an alert if their card has been found. Also, if a passenger has lost an object, they can send a message describing it and indicating where they think they lost it, which will trigger an automatic search and a response, officials said.
