With technology becoming more compact and expensive, replacing lost items like an expensive TWS earbuds could be quite the financial burden for some. Luckily, Panasonic has built a new vacuum device that is designed to rescue such small gadgets from train tracks in Japan.
The known consumer grade electronics maker has developed a new device with the help of Japan’s JR East rail group to recover small cordless devices like AirPods, as per an Engadget report. Usually, the rail authorities utilize a mechanical grabber to recover lost objects or other things that might have fallen on train tracks. But unfortunately, this only works well with items like shoes or other relatively large products. Small gadgets like truly wireless earbuds are too small to be picked up, as they can even get stuck in between gravel.
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This is where the new Panasonic vacuum comes in handy, as it features finger sized tubes that can pick the earbuds up through suction. After picking them up, the suction also holds the device in place long enough to be recovered by the authorities. Apparently, the need for such a device was required since JR East had reported over 950 incidents of earbuds being dropped in 78 stations between the period of July and September 2020 alone.
Thus, the new gadget arrives to reduce the “burdensome” task, as per workers. The issue isn’t limited to only Japan as other nations like the US are also dealing with a similar issue, especially in regions like New York. It has become quite a big issue and “It happens all the time,” according to officials. This has also led to commuters making risky and dangerous situations like jumping off the platform and onto the tracks.
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