Irvine Deploys Robots to Give City Sidewalks a High-Tech Check-Up
A Daxbot sidewalk assessment robot surveys Irvine’s pathways as part of a six-month ADA compliance project led by Bureau Veritas in partnership with the City.
Photo credit Linda Fontes, Public Information Officer, City of Irvine
If you spot a knee-high robot meticulously scanning the sidewalk in your neighborhood, it’s not a lost Star Wars droid. It’s one of Irvine’s newest “employees,” and it’s here to make the city safer and more accessible for everyone.
As part of a citywide accessibility audit, Irvine is deploying a team of robotic surveyors built by Oregon-based Daxbot. These compact, four-wheeled machines are equipped with advanced sensors and a singular mission: to map the city’s sidewalks, ramps, and trails for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Over the next six months, they’ll cover more than 950 miles of public sidewalks, 9,000 curb ramps, and 70 miles of trails at a price of $600,000. The robots will also assess 64 public buildings for $150,000 and 68 public park sites for $170,000.
The effort is being led by Bureau Veritas, an Irvine contractor, which has partnered with Daxbot to bring this technology to the city. Together, they’re offering Irvine a safer, faster, and more precise way to pinpoint hazards that affect residents with mobility challenges.
Faster, Smarter, and More Accurate
According to Daxbot’s Andy Craig, the robotic assessment process can be completed up to five times faster than traditional inspection methods, which often require engineers to make hundreds of manual measurements per mile.
“Most cities are paying close to $1,200 per mile for traditional sidewalk assessments,” said Craig. Instead of relying on engineers with clipboards and levels, Irvine is turning to robots equipped with sensors, lasers, and cameras to generate a detailed—and more affordable—map of the city’s pedestrian infrastructure.
“We’re actually working with the Federal Department of Transportation to help set data accuracy standards for ADA assessments,” Daxbot’s Andy Craig explained. “Municipalities end up wasting about 15 to 30% of their sidewalk budget just based on bad data.”
Instead of clipboards and hand levels, Irvine will receive a digital GIS map with multiple layers. Each sidewalk segment, curb ramp, and crosswalk will be scored for compliance. “It’s almost like Google view, but for the sidewalks,” Craig said. “The city can act as if they’re walking down the sidewalk and look at all the different measurements with HD photographic imagery.”
How They Work
Each robot is loaded with an array of engineering-grade tools, from stereo vision cameras to laser sensors and an inclinometer for slope measurements. The machines even cross-check their readings: “He has an actual engineering-grade inclinometer, stereo vision with calibrated optical sensors, and internal treads that cross-reference the laser data. It all works together to take very accurate measurements.”
In practice, that means when residents see a robot pivoting back and forth on a ramp, it isn’t malfunctioning—it’s taking multiple readings to measure slope and cross-slope angles required under ADA standards.
The bots also run on long-lasting batteries. Each weighs about 150 pounds, can operate for up to 12 hours on a charge, and returns at night to charge wirelessly in “Dax Huts”—portable doghouse-style stations.
Designed to Be Friendly
Daxbot’s motto is “Friendly robots in service of humanity,” and the company has intentionally designed its machines to be approachable. Craig likened their behavior to a well-trained service animal.
“They’re supposed to behave like a service dog—that was the design,” Craig said. Each unit even has a name—Smokey, Jack, Bandit, Jazzy—echoing the pet-like presence they bring to city sidewalks.
That approachability is backed by serious human-centered research. Daxbot’s team studies human–robot interaction (HRI), designing the machines to move and behave in ways that make people feel comfortable. The bots can even recognize when a pedestrian using a wheelchair or cane approaches, and they automatically yield to let them pass.
Safety and Reliability
Though compact, these robots are rugged. They’re weatherproof, built to handle rain, and even tested in snow and ice. They’re also programmed with safety in mind. “We’ve calculated that one will get hit by a car about once every 10,000 miles,” Craig explained. “In the one case we had, the driver actually drove onto the sidewalk. If it had been a pedestrian, they would have been hit.”
Each unit carries GPS tracking, sensors that prevent collisions, and proximity detection to stop before hitting obstacles. Their weight and design make them difficult to steal, and theft or vandalism incidents have been rare.
What Comes Next
For Irvine, this project represents not only an embrace of technology but a commitment to accessibility. Once the robots complete their survey, Bureau Veritas and city staff will analyze the data and create a prioritized list of improvements.
“An implementation plan will be developed to incorporate the proposed recommendations into future maintenance and capital improvement projects,” said Linda Fontes, a Public Information Officer with the city of Irvine.
That means the information gathered by Smokey, Jack, and their robotic colleagues will ultimately shape the upgrades to sidewalks, ramps, and trails that Irvine residents will rely on for years to come.
Irvine isn’t alone in testing the bots. Daxbot has already unrolled its sidewalk surveyors in about 20 municipalities nationwide. But Irvine is the largest cities to commit to a full ADA audit using the technology.
“As far as we can tell, of everything that’s out there, we are collecting the most accurate data you can get for ADA—and that’s so important for our residents who need it,”Craig emphasized.
Respecting the Newest “Employees”
For Irvinites who come across these new city workers, a request from Daxbot: treat the robots as you would any city employee doing their job.
“They’re out there working,” Craig said. “Be friendly, interact, but let them get back to work.”
With their flashing blue lights, dog-like names, and service-animal demeanor, these little machines may look whimsical. But their mission is serious: making Irvine’s sidewalks safer, more equitable, and more accessible for all.