A road cleaning vehicle

A road cleaning vehicle comprising:

• a driving system for driving the road cleaning vehicle in a forward direction along a road having debris thereon;
• road cleaning equipment for cleaning the debris on the road and comprising a debris collection system;
• and
• a control system comprising:
• at least one debris accumulation sensor configured to generate debris accumulation sensor data for identifying blockages of the debris collection system by locating debris captured by the debris collection system in front of and adjacent to the debris collection system when the road cleaning vehicle is moving in the forward direction and the debris collection system is adjacent the road;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• receive the debris accumulation sensor data from the debris accumulation sensor;
• process the debris accumulation sensor data in a debris accumulation model to identify the debris captured by the debris collection system in front of and adjacent to the debris collection system;
• and
• operate the road cleaning equipment based upon the debris identified in front of and adjacent to the debris collection system to release the debris from in front of and adjacent to the debris collection system, wherein:
• the debris collection system comprises at least one inlet nozzle and fan for drawing debris from the road through the at least one inlet nozzle;
• and
• a gap between the at least one inlet nozzle and road is adjustable and the controller is configured to operate the road cleaning equipment based upon debris identified in front of the inlet nozzle by adjusting the size of the gap such that the debris is released from in front of the inlet nozzle.