Refuse vehicle with assisted lift assembly

A front-loading refuse vehicle comprising:

• a chassis;
• a plurality of tractive elements coupled to the chassis;
• a refuse compartment coupled to the chassis;
• a lift arm coupled to the chassis and configured to engage a refuse container, the lift arm being rotatable relative to the chassis about an axis of rotation that extends laterally;
• a lift arm actuator coupled to the chassis and configured to move the lift arm between a forward position in which the lift arm extends forward of the axis of rotation and a rearward position in which the lift arm extends rearward of the axis of rotation;
• and
• a spring coupled to the chassis and the lift arm, wherein at least one of (a) the spring is configured to bias the lift arm toward the rearward position when the lift arm is in the forward position or (b) the spring is configured to bias the lift arm toward the forward position when the lift arm is in the rearward position.

A front-loading refuse vehicle comprising:

• a chassis;
• a plurality of tractive elements coupled to the chassis;
• a refuse compartment coupled to the chassis;
• a lift arm coupled to the chassis and configured to engage a refuse container, the lift arm being rotatable relative to the chassis about an axis of rotation that extends laterally;
• a linear actuator having a first end coupled to the chassis and a second end coupled to the lift arm, wherein the linear actuator is configured to move the lift arm between a forward position in which the lift arm extends forward of the axis of rotation and a rearward position in which the lift arm extends rearward of the axis of rotation;
• an electric motor coupled to the lift arm and the chassis;
• a sensor configured to provide sensor data indicating an angular position of the lift arm;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to the electric motor and the sensor and configured to:
• determine, based on the sensor data, whether the lift arm is moving downward;
• and
• control the electric motor to apply a braking torque on the lift arm to oppose movement of the lift arm in response to a determination that the lift arm is moving downward.