Skip to main content

Semcon deploys autonomous snowploughs at Norwegian airport

Semcon has deployed 20 autonomous snowploughs to clear runways at Fagernes Airport in Leirin, Norway, which are said to clear an area of 357,500 square metres an hour. The machines, according to the company’s chief executive officer Markus Granlund, will allow airports all over the world to streamline activities and reduce delays for passengers. The project has been developed by Yeti Snow Technology and is co-owned by Semcon and Øveraasen, for airport operator Avinor. These systems are said to clear snow
March 26, 2018 Read time: 1 min

Semcon has deployed 20 autonomous snowploughs to clear runways at Fagernes Airport in Leirin, Norway, which are said to clear an area of 357,500 square metres an hour. The machines, according to the company’s chief executive officer Markus Granlund, will allow airports all over the world to streamline activities and reduce delays for passengers.

The project has been developed by Yeti Snow Technology and is co-owned by Semcon and Øveraasen, for airport operator Avinor. These systems are said to clear snow in formation with several vehicles working together.

John Emil Halden, Semcon’s project manager, said: “We have designed a control system that sets up digital patterns for autonomous snow clearance at airports. The system can then download these patterns and monitor a number of vehicles that navigate using RTK GPS, an accurate form of position measurement, and communicate using 4G modems.”

Related Content

  • Camera technology a flexible and cost-effective option
    June 7, 2012
    Perceptions of machine vision being an expensive solution are being challenged by developments in both core technologies and ancillaries. Here, Jason Barnes and David Crawford look at the latest developments in the sector. A notable aspect of machine vision is the flexibility it offers in terms of how and how much data is passed around a network. With smart cameras, processing capabilities at the front end mean that only that which is valid need be communicated back to a central processor of any descripti
  • Moxa provides clear vision for Caldecott Tunnel’s Fourth Bore
    September 15, 2014
    Caldecott Tunnel’s new Fourth Bore is utilising a bespoke high-capacity monitoring and communications network from Moxa. The Caldecott Tunnel connects Contra Costa and Alameda counties in Northern California and traditionally it has suffered severe congestion - especially during peak hours. Opened in 1937 as a twin-bore arrangement, by 1964 the increase in traffic volumes led to a third bore being added. Shortly after the third bore was opened a tidal flow was introduced with the centre bore alternating in
  • Integrated corridor management aids multi-modal transport planning
    January 24, 2012
    Telvent’s Jorgen Pedersen and Tip Franklin discuss how integrated corridor management can create synergies within a multimodal transportation infrastructure, while promoting modal shift. The mantra ‘We cannot build ourselves out of congestion’ has long been stated and too often ignored. But with the economy in dire straits, funding deficits and pressure to reduce governmental spending, this is now being taken seriously by almost everyone who has an interest in the flow of traffic. By ‘everyone’ we include
  • Volvo Cars plans to test 100 autonomous cars in China
    April 8, 2016
    Volvo Cars has announced plans to launch China’s most advanced autonomous driving experiment in which local drivers will test autonomous driving cars on public roads in everyday driving conditions. Volvo expects the experiment to involve up to 100 cars and will in coming months begin negotiations with interested cities in China to see which is able to provide the necessary permissions, regulations and infrastructure to allow the experiment to go ahead. Volvo believes the introduction of autonomous d