Helsinki Airport (HEL) is taking part in a pilot of an autonomous electric street sweeper. Finnish street maintenance technology developer Trombia Technologies in partnership with facility services company ISS Finland are trialling the vehicle in the areas around HEL’s Terminal 1 and P3 parking area.
The focus of the pilot is to develop ways autonomous street sweepers can support facilities maintenance work in busy closed areas like airport parking lots, where cleanliness is key both for the security and for the atmosphere.
Antti Nikkanen, CEO of Trombia Technologies, explains: “Airports are open basically 24/7 and to fill the needs of the global traveller, all areas from the parking lot to the terminal and to the gate need to fill high service levels safely and this can be a true sweet spot for autonomous maintenance. During the pilot we will work in continuous mode, meaning the robot will work in the areas also during the night.”
Jukka Backlund, Head of Facility Management product, ISS Finland, added: “At ISS our purpose is to connect people and places to make the world work better. In a better working world innovations and technology help people to work, live and travel in a safe and comfortable way. That is why ISS Finland is proudly participating in this project with Trombia Technologies. We are constantly looking for new innovations and finding solutions that make life easier, more productive, and meaningful for our customers and for our employees. We are frontrunner in sustainable facility management and this pilot also supports our corporate responsibility and environmental targets.”
During the 10 days long pilot the estimated carbon emissions saved will be around 26kg of CO2 per hour.
“As we know we need to cut our carbon emissions heavily during the following years. Electric sweepers and other service robots can play a big role in revolutionising the environmental impact of maintenance”, Nikkanen added.
The pilot is part of “Multi-purpose Service Robotics as Operator Business” (MURO) project, that is run by one of Europe’s leading research institutions, VTT and funded by Business Finland.
