Trombia Free is a fully autonomous street sweeper developed by Finnish road maintenance equipment manufacturer Trombia Technologies. The electric vehicle uses less than 15% of the power needed by currently available heavy-suction sweeping technologies, cutting over 3 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually. Despite its electric design, the Trombia Free doesn’t compromise power or performance capabilities.
“The current vehicle technology relies on suction performance that was invented in the 1950s,” said Antti Nikkanen, CEO of Trombia Technologies. “We simply cannot enter 2020s green and sustainable era with such outdated solution. With the globally patented Trombia technology we are able to take down the power requirement dramatically, so turning it into a beautiful and powerful, electrified and autonomous device has been an exciting journey to this day.” Trombia Free will become the world’s first fully autonomous street cleaning device that is built to operate in all weather conditions.
The street sweeper comes equipped with a safety margin zone in front of or surrounding the unit, depending on its direction. That way, if a person, animal or object falls or runs in front of the vehicle, it will register them as obstacles and stop automatically.
As for jobs, the company said that the autonomous sweepers will make room for drivers to become operators, service managers and route or logistics planners. The Trombia Free boasts an annual operation total of 500 hours of continuous high-power sweeping (85% more energy-efficient than manual street sweepers), making it an average of 15 times more cost-effective as well. Unlike conventional sweepers, Trombia Free doesn’t use water, instead combining cyclone filtration, aerodynamics and humidifier methods to control dust. Because it is lighter and quieter, it can operate at night and even indoors.
Trombia Technologies, which patented its first street sweeping technology in 2013, has products being used in at least seven countries throughout North America, Northern Europe and Central Europe. Trombia Free will roll out through a year-long pilot program in 2021, and mass deliveries are set to begin in early 2022.
Images courtesy of Trombia Technologies
