Clean sweep for robot in smart city Helsinki

Finland is burnishing its credentials as a smart city of innovation with a novel pilot project of robot street cleaners. Starting from 19 April, residents of the Finnish capital’s Jätkäsaari quarter can see the automated Trombia Free street sweeper in action as it is tested on a pilot scheme as part of the Jätkäsaari Mobility Lab, a project co-coordinated by Forum Virium Helsinki and the City of Helsinki. The designers claim Trombia Free is the world’s first fully powered, electric and autonomous street sweeper and consumes only 15% of the energy required by conventional brushing vacuum cleaning machines. Neither does it generate emissions in the cleaning situation. The sweeper is about the size of a small passenger car. “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 really be achieved with automation in an urban environment,” says managing director Antti Nikkanen from Trombia Technologies, the developers of Trombia Free. The trial is being carried out in close collaboration with Helsinki City Construction Services Stara. With electric and automated work machinery, Stara is implementing the Carbon-neutral Helsinki 2035 programme. Jätkäsaari is a testbed for smart mobility. “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,” adds project manager Janne Rinne from the City of Helsinki innovation unit Forum Virium Helsinki.