Valtra’s Project Runway Snowbot a success

Snow and ice on airport runways can be extremely dangerous for flights landing at or departing the airport, so the job of clearing snow off runways in winter is of utmost importance and not a task to be taken lightly.

In a bid to find the most effective way to do so, five Finnish companies joined forces to hatch out a plan and hence, Project Runway Snowbot was born.

One of the participants, airport maintenance expert, Finavia, said maintaining airport runways is often a challenge during Finland’s long and snow laden winters.

“As an airport operator, we need to create summer conditions on Finnish runways even if it’s the middle of the winter,” said Finavia technical director, Henri Hansson.

“To meet this challenge, we are constantly searching for new solutions that support our world-class snow-how.”

Finavia, together with tractor specialist Valtra, tyre expert Nokian Tyres, airport sweeper blower manufacturer Vammas and sustainable energy company Neste, created and tested an autonomous snow clearing system over the winter 2018-2019 period, to great success.

The bots consisted of two Valtra T254 Versu tractors shod with Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI winter tyres each pulling a 4.5m wide sweeper blower by Vammas. To achieve utmost precision, Valtra’s SmartTouch features including auto-guidance with centimetre-level precision and Isobus implement control were used to clear the pre-defined routes.

This was not the first time Valtra and Nokian Tyres worked together on a snow-clearing project. In 2018, the two companies set a speed record for unmanned snow-ploughing with an autonomous T254 Versu equipped with Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI tyres.

For Project Runway Snowbot, the emphasis was placed on precision over speed.

“Runway Snowbot is a proof of concept, showing that by combining the know-how of five Finnish companies, airport runways can be cleared in a new way – more safely, more sustainably, more economically and more comfortably,” said Valtra Scandinavia, Baltics & Western and Central Europe Senior Brand Business Manager, Matti Tiitinen.

With Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI tyres, which Nokian claims to be the world’s first tractor winter tyre, the Snowbots have the grip and accuracy needed for a safe, driverless operation – while also being gentle to the tarmac.

“Without the driver carrying out instinctive corrections for steering and throttle, the tyres must offer very predictable handling,” said Nokian Heavy Tyres Head of Sales and Marketing, Toni Silfverberg.

“What’s more, the operation without studs, the low rolling resistance of Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI and our sustainable manufacturing process all add to the overall economy and sustainability.”

Both the Valtra and the Vammas sweeper blower were fuelled with Neste’s MY Renewable Diesel, which Neste claims reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 90 per cent compared to fossil diesel.

While Project Runway Snowbot was a huge success, the system is not quite ready for commercial implementation.

“Tractors are an interesting alternative for airport fleets where working widths of 4.5m are sufficient,” said Finavia Machine Equipment Specialist, Tero Santamanner.

“Tractors are considerably less expensive in total cost of ownership than trucks and much more versatile as they can be used for other tasks such as snow-blowing or mowing during the summertime.”

“Project Runway Snowbot was the second project on autonomous operation and seamless play between Valtra tractors and Nokian Tyres,” said Valtra’s Matti Tiitinen.

“The future will bring more and more autonomous applications, and we are ready for the new demands they bring.”