Pressure Washer Robot

Community General Discussions
1

I'm just a janitor working at a dead end job. They had me pressure wash some concrete the other day and was thinking basically the only work involved is moving the tip. 

 

I have no experience with robots, but I have an idea and that's a start.

I'm looking for a robotic pressure washer for driveways and sidewalks. There are robots out there.

 

XJFhX8J.png

http://www.combijet.com/en/view-product-detail/5/0/59/rje-1000-hydro-blasting-robot]http://www.combijet.com/en/view-product-detail/5/0/59/rje-1000-hydro-blasting-robot

 

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http://swinerobotics.com/site/wash-hand/]http://swinerobotics.com/site/wash-hand/

 

But they are not exactly what I'm looking for. 

This last one is closer to what I want but only because its cleaning concrete lol

 

8ZXdJsU.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAL_RDsAwLw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAL_RDsAwLw

 

What i would like is unit that moves back and forth and forward like a printer steadily covering the area.

I'm supposing GPS and a photogrammetry map from a UAV could be used to plot the path of the unit.

 

Challenges

  1. consistency of the clean
  2. vibrations from the gas powered engine on the pressure washer itself affecting the sensors

What different ways and sensors could be used to keep the clean constant? 

visual sensor - what if the concrete isn't that dirty and the clean swath is not contrasted enough?

Maybe something to measure the size of the cleaning swath and calibrate accordingly before starting the job.  

But that is only to help with the map and does not deal with the consistency.  

 

Cdl2Pps.jpg

 

Because of the vibrations from the gas powered engine on the pressure washer itself I'm thinking two units would be required.

one for the pressure head and one following behind with the pressure washer. (I'm not sure if an electric pressure washer would be powerful enough and then you also have to supply power.)

 

Any ideas or suggestions would be great.

 

 

2

Goals

Curious to know what exactly you would like the robot to do - do you want to control it remotely, or have it follow a predefined path? Do you already have the pressure washer part? Note that pressure washers can be power hungry, so having it operated solely from battery power might mean it does not last long. You’ll still need it to be connected to a water supply. It’s potentially dangerous so if it’s for work, you’ll likely still need a human close at all times. Last, GPS only gives around 2m accuracy, so you’ll need additional sensors to be able to operate in a small area.

3

Sound like a great project.

Sound like a great project. Combines mechanical, electrical, software, sensors into one. Some thoughts:

1. I doubt the vibrations would effect the accuracy to any degree of concern.
2. Digital compass might be enough for navigating a straight line.
3. You might consider using some sort of light beacon that a human places to mark the course.
4. Where is the water source? Tank, hose, vacumn up the spent water?
5. Inspection process. How do you know it iw working ok?

 

 

4

Great project! This is

Great project!  This is definitely something doable that you can use.

My suggestion is to start small.  Get it working similarly to the guy who used the kid’s toy and go from there.  If you haven’t done this before, that in itself is a number of pretty big steps.  

Instructables.com has a number of examples where they build radio controlled lawn mowers and the like so would definitely point you in the right direction.  

http://www.instructables.com/id/Google-Mows-My-Lawn/

has some interesting ideas.  You will notice in the video, the thing doesn’t go straight.  That is why you need a micro controller and motor drivers so you can control the voltage via PWM that actually goes to the motors.

5

Here’s something I’m working on.

6

@CheaperMerchant Welcome to the RobotShop Community. I wonder if a round frame can be made (similar to a Roomba) so the robot itself can go up to an edge, and more easily made to be autonomous. The approach of not modifying the pressure washer (made for a human to hold) is completely rational.

1 Like
7

Oh, that’s cool!

8

(AKA Cheaper Merchant)
My latest creation.

More videos:

9

@PowerWashNJ Nicely done!

10

I need to figure out a way to program it, so it can move in a rectangular motion autonomously. HELP!

11

You’ll need to share a lot more about the electronics you’re using (and your programming skills). Normally repeatable motion needs encoders which count revolutions of either the motor or the wheel, which translates to linear distance / rotation etc.

12

Hey! Any suggestions on How I would develop a mapping system that allows the machine to navigate around the house and adjust its cleaning path based on the location of obstacles and other features

13

@Griff_77 Welcome to the RobotShop Community. There’s not simple answer to that question, so the first thing you’ll need to do is understand what sensors are available and what each does, and select accordingly. You’ll likely need two systems: one which does the navigation, and another which handles obstacle avoidance.

1 Like