Safety design of a petrol pump attendant robot

Purpose – To set‐up the study of an unmanned system for refuelling of vehicles, with attention to VOCs recovery. Design/methodology/approach – Presents the architecture of a robotic arm for refuelling. Special attention was allocated to the safety characteristics of the automatic refuelling station assuring the highest protection of people and their safeguard against accidents, preventing any dangerous response of the robotic arm in all the predictable conditions. A concurrent engineering methodology jointly with the life‐cycle approach was adopted for the study and evaluation of the equipment. Findings – Finds that a six DoF arm with a tubular architecture with relocated actuation equipped with a specifically designed filler satisfying stage II rules is suitable to perform the task of safe refuelling of vehicles. Research limitations/implications – Provides hints to design refuelling stations, also for fluids of the future (e.g. hydrogen). Practical implications – This robot is a low cost and efficient solution for replacing humans in petrol pump stations, while preserving environmental health. Refuelling will be comfortable and safe even in adverse climate conditions or for dangerous fuels (e.g. hydrogen). Originality/value – Introduces a robotic arm made with tubes so that cables, pipes and VOCs run inside it and a filler granting easy mating with the cap and VOCs collection.