by Brianna Crandall — October 31, 2016 — Commercial cleaning innovator Advance, a brand of professional cleaning equipment manufacturer Nilfisk, provided a sneak peak of its new high-tech autonomous scrubber at last week’s ISSA/INTERCLEAN show and launched its new battery-powered micro scrubber for small spaces.
Advance Liberty A50 Autonomous Scrubber
The Advance Liberty A50, designed in a partnership between Nilfisk and Carnegie Robotics, a provider of advanced robotics sensors and software, is specifically designed to leverage today’s most advanced autonomous technologies to make commercial floor care in such settings as retail, hospitality, education, health care and more, more productive, safer and easier than ever
According to Nilfisk, the Advance Liberty A50 is the cleaning industry’s only stand-on scrubber/dryer that can be operated either autonomously or manually, providing cleaning professionals with unprecedented flexibility based on their cleaning needs. With its proprietary sensor suite, software and camera, the scrubber/dryer recognizes unknown obstacles as small as a tennis ball and then automatically maneuvers around them, making the machine safe to use in open or congested spaces. And a proprietary mix of technology, including cameras, sensors and lasers, allow the Advance Liberty A50 to accurately track its cleaning path and clean close to obstacles and walls, says the company.
After intensive research and rigorous testing, Carnegie Robotics says it has adapted military- and space-grade technologies to provide the Advance Liberty A50 scrubber with best-in-indutry perception and intelligent navigation in order to deliver safe and reliable floor cleaning. The company also engineered a simple-to-use interface that enables flexible and efficient operation. With only three buttons, minimal training is required to operate it, adds Nilfisk.
Horizon Program
The Advance Liberty A50, to be launched in spring 2017 in select markets, will be the first product to launch under Nilfisk’s recently announced Horizon Program, a pioneering global program intended to deliver intelligent, technologically advanced autonomous cleaning solutions. Working with Carnegie Robotics, Nilfisk’s Horizon Program is a strategic, long-term initiative to launch multiple products that will provide the full spectrum of autonomous capabilities. Nilfisk’s work with Carnegie Robotics combines the highest levels of expertise in robotics and commercial cleaning so customers can experience state-of-the-art self-operating, driverless cleaning options for a wide range of applications.
Leveraging Nilfisk’s 110-year history of bringing ingenuity together with practical applications to serve customers and their business objectives, the new program is dedicated to giving customers greater control and more flexibility, with the goal of fundamentally changing the way they clean and how they look at productivity and total cost of ownership. It is expected to set the pace for intelligent equipment going forward in the commercial cleaning industry.
Advance SC250 Battery Micro Scrubber
Advance also introduced the Advance SC250 Battery Micro Scrubber, a compact, easy-to-use solution for cleaning small, high traffic areas. The Advance SC250 joins the Advance SC100 Upright Scrubber, introduced earlier, as another solution in the Advance micro scrubber category. The cord-electric SC100 and lithium battery-powered SC250 scrubbers are specifically designed to quickly and effectively clean small, high-traffic spaces, leaving cleaning professionals with more time to address larger cleaning tasks.
Jim Jarman, vice president of Marketing with Nilfisk, U.S. Floor Care, pointed out:
The SC100 and SC250 are great alternatives to the traditional mop and bucket that are generally used for cleaning smaller spaces such as convenience stores, coffee shops, waiting rooms, small offices, and more. These scrubbers will provide a faster, cleaner clean while reducing the risk of slip-and-falls, which means improved productivity and safety for cleaning professionals and building occupants alike.
The SC100 is a 12-inch cylindrical, cord-electric upright scrubber that includes single-pass scrub-and-dry performance to make cleaning faster and easier, and a solution tank that dispenses only clean solution to prevent spreading dirt around. The SC250 is a 13.5-inch cylindrical, lithium battery micro scrubber that operates at a low 66 dB A, allowing for daytime cleaning and cleaning in noise-sensitive areas, and it boasts single-pass sweep, scrub and dry performance to remove dirt and debris quickly.
Both scrubbers feature two solution-flow settings to provide more efficient cleaning, a convenient dosing cap to regulate detergent usage and reduce costs, and an easy-to-remove recovery tank that makes emptying dirty water simpler.
For more information see the Nilfisk Web site.