Autonomous cleaning machines for efficient operations
You will have heard the hype about autonomous cars. They’re not on our streets yet, as the technology needed is still developing. In the meantime, we’re making good use of autonomous cleaning machines as they help keep our parking facilities clean.
Self-driving cleaning machine at work
Q-Park Netherlands started a pilot project with autonomous cleaning machines in 2022. We put four different robot cleaners to the test in one of our parking facilities. After extensive testing, two brands were selected and now self-driving cleaning machines are at work in 12 parking facilities in the Netherlands and Germany.
The robot cleaners function best in parking facilities:
where a parking deck is flat;
with a uniform coating throughout;
at night, when the parking facility is (almost) empty.
The robot cleaners can clean close to pillars, up to 20 cm, which means much less manual cleaning. If the robot encounters a parked car, it leaves a safe margin of about one metre. The log shows exactly which areas were cleaned, so it’s easy to see if an area hasn’t been cleaned at all after several rounds.
Before we can replace all our traditional, manually operated cleaning machines with robot cleaners, there are still many challenges to overcome, such as dealing with:
excess water after heavy rainfall;
expansion joints, thresholds and gutters;
split-floor parking decks;
space required for the base station.
Tangible advantages of robot cleaners include:
consistent increase in overall parking facility cleanliness;
up to 50% fewer hours spent cleaning;
less wear on the floor coating, reducing maintenance costs;
the electric machines are quieter and free up our Parking Hosts for other, more varied work.
We are currently exploring alternative and larger machines so we are better prepared in the event of flooding. We are also anticipating that manufacturers will implement new technology for better performance in multi-level parking facilities.
Q-Park Europarking, Amsterdam: one of the parking facilities now using a robot cleaner.