<p>In theory, the machines should be able to drive down the residential roads and using the arm, pick up the garbage containers.  The system does not work that well.  I was able to take these photographs while the man operating this machine was away making the waste containers accessible to the machine.  This machine has an arm; others in this same fleet have a hook and the operator must get out of the truck at each location and attach the hook to the metal bars which are embedded into the containers.
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The arm, grabbing two waste containers at one time is a rare and beautiful sight.
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:CarolSpears" title="User:CarolSpears">carol</a>
CC BY-SA 3.0
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:CarolSpears" title="User:CarolSpears">carol</a> and Mountain View Waste Management personnel