OREANDA-NEWS  Russian Railways abandoned the idea of launching robot porters at train stations, but may return to it in the future, the company told RIA Novosti.

Information about the idea of Russian Railways to use robot porters at train stations appeared in the fall of 2023. The company then posted a request for proposals for a similar technology on its official website. The press service of Russian Railways RIA Novosti reported at the time that the implementation of the project would depend on the results of the competition, and development testing could be carried out at Moscow train stations.

"After reviewing the proposals received, the company's specialists came to the conclusion that the introduction of such solutions, taking into account their level of development, is currently premature. Russian Railways does not rule out that they will consider their use in the future," Russian Railways said on Tuesday.

According to the information on the Russian Railways website, a total of six applications were submitted during the collection of proposals for robot porters. No other details are listed there.

Russian Railways previously prescribed technical requirements for "iron assistants". The device had to be made of materials resistant to the external environment in the form of tap water with a temperature of up to 99 degrees Celsius under pressure, and have full autonomy in terms of recharging and returning to the device's home point. The maximum load is 30 kilograms.

It was stated in the materials that it was planned to test the robot porters at the stations of the Moscow and North-Western regional directorates of railway stations. In total, 50 robot porters were specified in the purchase plans.