Collection Robot on King's Day

On King's Day we conducted a new experiment with the Wijkbot in the Afrikaanderwijk. After the King's visit, the neighbourhood organised a festival in the park.

Using the Wijkbot, a Verzamelbot (Collection Robot) was built to help keep the festival grounds clean. The design and construction was carried out by residents of the Cities of Things Lab 010 think tank.

The goal is to explore whether new technology — normally developed by large tech companies — can instead be designed by citizens, with maximum freedom to determine its function. That is the Wijkbot: a robot kit made from simple materials.

After several sessions discussing the role of robots in the neighbourhood, the group decided to seize King's Day as an opportunity to sketch and test a robot in the neighbourhood. In two brainstorming sessions the Verzamelbot was born, then built at a making workshop at Scrap, using an IBC container as base. The robot was given the function of collecting reusable waste, and also collecting and spreading stories from the neighbourhood.

It was a success: residents at the festival understood the function and sometimes made use of it. The ultimate ideal is that such a kit can be used by residents to develop and operate their own services.