Panasonic's New Vacuum Gadget Addresses Japan Railway Issue, Removes Earbuds From Train Tracks

Panasonic wants to address Japan's railways' current issue with dropped earbuds. The electronics manufacturer developed a new vacuum gadget that can remove the earbuds, accidentally dropped by the commuters, from the train tracks.

According to The Verge's latest report, Japan is facing a rise in people dropping wireless earbuds onto the railroads. Panasonic collaborates with JR East, the part of Japan's previously private railway group that covers the Tohoku and Tokyo regions of the Asian country.

The two companies are now creating a vacuum cleaner-style device. Panasonic claims that it is much better suited to picking up stray earbuds.

It is currently being tested at Ikebukuro station, a major train center in northern Tokyo. The early results suggest that it works quicker compared to the traditional grabber.

Japan's JR East normally uses the 'magic hand' tool

As of the moment, JR East is still using a grabber-style "magic hand" tool to rescue smartphones, hats, and other large items from the train tracks.

However, smaller items, such as AirPod Pro, are much harder to retrieve because of the gravel between the rails.

Because of this issue, the train staff will have to wait until the last train made its last round up.

Officials say that earbuds in trail tracks are 'burdensome'

Japan Times reported that 78 stations in the Tokyo area suffer from about 950 cases of dropped earphones. The incident was recorded from July until September.

JR East or East Japan Railway Co. said that the current record makes up one-quarter of all cases of dropped items. The train railway company said that collecting dropped earbuds is "burdensome" since the train officials have to conduct the search after the last trains of the day.

Aside from JR East, there are also other companies that experience the same issue. These include Keio Corp., Tokyu Corp., West Japan Railway Co., and other railway operators in the country.

To avoid the incident, the officials reminding all the passengers to be more careful if they're using wireless earphones. As of the moment, the new vacuum gadget is still being tested.

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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.