In September 2020, Finnish road maintenance technology developer Trombia Technologies debuted the world’s first full-power electric autonomous street sweeper. It took to the streets of Helsinki as part of the Jätkäsaari Mobility Lab unveiling. Since then, the robot has been cleaning the Helsinki Baana bicycle lane during the day, street cleansing elsewhere within the city by night.
Antti Nikkanen, the Managing Director of Trombia Technologies, said:
The autonomous and electric street sweeper is so quiet that it makes it possible to sweep the streets at night, hindering traffic as little as possible. For us, Jätkäsaari is an ideal smart city test location and a reference for the world’s major cities, as Jätkäsaari at night will show what can be achieved with automation in an urban environment.
The Trombia Free looks like an oversized lawnmower or robotic vacuum cleaner. It measures approximately 11.5 feet long and 7.5 feet wide (3.52 x 2.3 m) – add two gutter brooms, and the width expands to about 9.8 feet (3 m).
Its job is to gradually move through city streets, cleaning dust, dirt, and debris as it goes. It can go 10 km/h but is restricted to a pace of between 2 to 6 km/h (1.2-3.7 mph). It can sweep the roads for approximately 17 hours per charge of its Li-ion batteries.
Janne Rinne, the Project Manager of the city’s innovation unit Forum Virium Helsinki, said:
Our goal is for the best solutions to be exported from Jätkäsaari Mobility Lab to other cities in Finland and abroad. At the same time, we are promoting Helsinki’s climate goals and creating a more enjoyable urban environment for the residents.
Trombia claims the device consumes a fraction of the water and only 15% of the energy of mainstream cleaning machines and doesn’t generate emissions. Meaning, cities can reduce their power requirements without compromising effectiveness and quality.
Helsinki Baana Bicycle lane sweeping pilot underway. Getting all wet, but we are #allweatherautonomous.#smartcities #sweeper #streetcleaning pic.twitter.com/m9txztAPic
— Trombia Technologies (@TrombiaTech) April 23, 2021
More commercial pilots are expected to roll out through the year, kick-starting a greener period of more sustainable urban cleaning. In March, Espoo also began testing Trombia Free on its bike paths.
Antti Nikkanen, the CEO of Trombia Technologies, said:
We are thrilled to start the Pilot Program with the city of Espoo. When we think about the over 3 million CO2 metric tons of carbon emissions that high-power diesel-fueled suction street sweepers around the world produce annually, we see that smart cities around the world can act to reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions significantly by modernizing the way street cleaning is done.
The equipment can detect pedestrians and hurdles in its path and stop. Nevertheless, the street sweeper will be followed constantly by an operator throughout the pilots.
Trombia Free devices feature an all-weather, autonomous, lidar-based machine vision technology that filtrates the noise coming from rainy, snowy, or alternate conditions in the environment. It uses LiDAR and machine vision technology to move about and avoid an obstacle on its own. It can operate in any weather, day and night.
The test runs will monitor the degree of efficiency and level of noise emitted and any limitations and benefits. The company will publish the outcomes to benefit further development.
Nikkanen concluded:
As the spring moves forward, Pilot Programs in international traffic and heavy-industry sites are to be announced. Full-power cleaning is also a workplace safety issue for heavy industrial sites, and with Trombia Free, this can be delivered effectively, autonomously, and carbon-free. To stop the climate crisis is a common mission, and we need new powerful innovations on a global level to stop it. Trombia Free unlocks the potential for mass-electrification and carbon-neutralization of the whole street sweeping industry.
The organization expects to attempt as many as ten pilot programs before pre-sales occur this year and commercial availability in the first quarter of 2022.
