Smart Street Sweepers Headed to Fort Collins, Colo.

The city of Fort Collins, Colo., will test new smart street sweeper technology this year as part of an innovative pilot project to ensure roads are properly maintained for residents and visitors.

Starting in March, the city will partner with Rubicon Global on a six-month pilot program. Rubicon Global is a technology company that provides waste, recycling and smart city solutions to businesses and governments worldwide.

Rubicon’s technology will be installed in the city’s street sweeping fleet, helping to manage street sweeping routes, dispatching and vehicle location, as well as enabling drivers to flag issues and pathway obstructions throughout Fort Collins. 

“The city of Fort Collins is always looking to take advantage of technology and data to help improve efficiency, maintenance and make for a better community for our citizens,” said Larry Schneider, City of Fort Collins director of transportation, in a statement. “We think this specific smart city solution from Rubicon Global could be a game changer for our fleet of street sweeping vehicles."

Fort Collins is a founding member of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, which has put a plan in place to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Street sweepers play a key role in human health, environmental quality and pollution control.

“The RUBICONSmartCity platform helps cities of all sizes leverage data to make smarter decisions about everything from waste and recycling services to road conditions and overall city operations, leading to improvements in sustainability and quality of life that map to an overall mission to end waste in all of its forms,” said Michael Allegretti, chief public strategy officer for Rubicon Global, in a statement. “We are honored to collaborate with the city of Fort Collins, which is rapidly setting the standard for smart cities in America through proactive initiatives like this partnership.”