AutoFuel displays latest developments at UNITI expo

Autofuel, the leading Danish innovator in robotic refuelling will showcase their latest developments at the UNITI Expo in Stuttgart in May this year.

“With the latest installation we did in Finland we gained a lot of additional field experience which is immediately used as input for further development of our latest generation robotic refuelling arm”, Jonas Thor Olsen CEO of Autofuel said. “The more the system is used, the better and more accurately it will work”. The past two years we have been using this experience to further develop our internal operating systems such as the car positioning sensors, the accuracy of the fuel cap detection, and we can monitor the safety zone between robot and car much more accurately. This all creates smoother operation of the robot and therefore a higher customer satisfaction”.

Human error

We all know that most of the customers who visit our petrol sites are not “professional refuellers”. They often don’t see or know the dangers that go with refuelling. Common issues are refuelling the wrong fuel, forgetting to return the nozzle, making a phone call during refuelling or worse, smoking when refuelling. This all increases the risk for damage, injuries or even cases of fatalities. Using our robotic refuelling arm helps minimise these possible human errors thus reducing the risk of accidents. As the robot also takes care of the payment you will also see a reduction in unpaid fuel!

Convenience is king:

In the fuel retail industry we can see the growing importance of convenience, with most of the manned stations stepping up a level in convenience in every possible area such as food, drinks, coffee and tea. To enjoy this offering you have to go into the shop. Robotic refuelling is increasing the convenience on your forecourt immediately, adding value to the customer, by giving the customer more time that he can spend inside the shop. If your convenience store is having a nice offer, that extra time could increase the sales easily with 5%!

Nowadays the customer expects a high level of convenience, so you can buy everything by pushing a button. Except for fuel. You still need to get out of your car and handle a dirty nozzle doing a hazardous task. With Autofuel’s robotic refuelling solutions that could be history!

Future of refuelling

Our industry is going through a major change. Further development of convenience, the growing market share of alternative fuels such as LNG, Electric charging and Hydro oxygen, forces the fuel retail industry to look at new technologies and developments in order to stay relevant. The Autofuel robotic refuel solution can be integrated in your existing infrastructure without the need of investing in new dispensers or electrical charging units.

Autonomous driving vehicles will also be a game changer for the industry. How will these vehicles be refuelled? Will they need to refuel at a fuel station? And if so, how will they be able to pay? These are just some of the questions that come up when looking at this development. Some people say it will only happen 20-30 years from now. This may be the case, but fact is that today’s new cars are already developed to a high level capable of self-driving, self-parking and self-lane changing and lane keeping. Going from there, for an autonomous driving car to be able to find its way around on a parking lot or fuel station, is not far. With Autofuel, you are already prepared to refuel any type of self-driving car!

Come visit us at the UNITI expo Hall 3, Stand 3.012 or at www.autofuel.eu!