Bangor is spending nearly $100,000 on robots that will take detailed measurements of all the city’s sidewalks, curbs and crosswalks.
The federal Americans with Disabilities Act calls for cities to evaluate their sidewalks and other public spaces to make them more accessible. Bangor has never done one, and hiring people or assigning staff would cost twice as much as the robots, the city said.
The robots will be operated through a contract with the Oregon-based company Daxbot that costs just under $95,000, Eric Baron, the city’s assistant engineering director, said Monday at a kickoff event at the Bangor Public Library.
Baron estimated it would cost at least double that to have humans collect the measurements, which will help the city identify areas that need to be repaired to make the sidewalks more accessible. In addition to the cost savings, “we don’t have the manpower” to assess 150 miles of sidewalk by hand, Baron added.
The robots were set to begin taking measurements around the city on Monday afternoon, Daxbot representative Mason Reeves told community members at the event.
Bangor plans to use six Daxbots, which are about 3 feet tall and can each travel about 6 miles per day.
Money for an ADA Transition Plan was already set aside and approved in last year’s budget, according to a memo city staff sent to Bangor’s finance committee in May. The city opted to waive the bid process for the contract since staff could not find any direct competitors to Daxbot, engineer Hannah Peasley and Assistance City Solicitor Grace Innis wrote in the memo.
Reeves estimated it would take about eight to 10 weeks to complete all of the measurements.
Bangor resident Ray Dubois attended the event at the library Monday, where community members were introduced to a robot named Jet.
“I think it’s a fantastic idea, especially if the cost of doing it will be half as much as if people would be doing it,” Dubois said. He added that he bikes around Bangor often and has noticed numerous areas where the sidewalks are uneven.
The robots are “semi-autonomous,” Reeves said, meaning they can roll around on their own but will be supervised by a remote operator in Oregon who can take over control when needed. “There’s never a risk of them going rogue,” he added.
The company also has a technician in Bangor who can fix any problems with the robots as needed, Reeves said.
The robots will not collect any personal data while out and about in Bangor, according to a Thursday announcement from the city.
City councilor Michael Beck elaborated in a Facebook post Friday, writing that the robots will not be used for surveillance or facial recognition.