THE RUNWAY SNOWBOT
Autonomous airport snow clearing –
from vision to a proof of concept
Finavia brought the technologies together, bringing their snow-how to the mix. Responsible for keeping the Finnish airports operational in any weather, Finavia is always looking for new, safe and innovative ways to optimize their work in a sustainable way. Finavia operates 21 airports – all of them striving to become carbon neutral in 2019. Finavia has made science out of snow plowing, knowing the field inside out.
Valtra has been working on autonomous tractors for years, focusing on improving the work safety and efficiency with intelligent guidance systems. They also want to demonstrate the versatility of a modern tractor, factory-tailored for the application. Features such as high uptime, low total cost of ownership, easy service and Valtra Connect service for remote fleet management make their models very suitable for the project.
Neste is the world’s largest producer of renewable fuels. Neste MY Renewable Diesel with approximately 90% less CO2 emissions was perfect for the project, showing that diesel engines can help moving towards carbon neutrality. With the aim to develop future solutions already today, Neste has also been experimenting robotized refueling that can automatize yet another maintenance aspect.
Nokian Tyres specializes in creating tires made for extreme conditions – be it dense forests, deep mines or, in this case, arctic airports. Their Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta TRI tractor tires offered the grip and control needed for the application – without studs, making the tractor more tarmac-friendly.
Fortbrand Services is the exclusive worldwide distributor for a wide range of unique airport snow removal and maintenance equipment, including the Vammas line of runway snow removal vehicles. Because their equipment is multi-functional or multi-seasonal in nature, they allow the airport operators to utilize their limited financial and human resources more efficiently.
