Hi, this is a different kind of forum post I am aware. I am a third year student industrial design and working on a window cleaning robot using a robot arm. As I don’t know anything about robotics, I am hoping to find some help on here. So, these are the problems I’m facing:
Ideally, we would like to choose a robot with a reach of 1.5-2 meters, and since the cleaning component is not heavy (around 1.5 kg), it doesn’t need to carry much weight. However, I haven’t seen such a combination anywhere, and I wondered if such a robot could theoretically work?
Additionally, there will be a person next to the robot in the gondola, especially in the initial phase, to monitor it. Are there technologies that take this into account (to prevent the person from suddenly getting hit)?
And the last aspect, weight and attachment. The gondola has a weight limit, so preferably, the robot arm would weigh a maximum of 100 kg. Regarding attachment, does a robot need to be permanently welded? Or are there possibilities for a less permanent attachment (allowing it to potentially move from the gondola)? And do the robots always come in one piece, or are they in components (fairly easily) disassembled, allowing them to be moved?
Thanks in advance for looking into it!
Inger
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@iduursma Welcome to the RobotShop Community.
Ideally, we would like to choose a robot with a reach of 1.5-2 meters,
Those tend to be quite expensive and a 1.5Kg at full reach is quite a lot: https://www.robotshop.com/collections/advanced-robotic-manipulators
Ex: 1.3m reach: https://www.robotshop.com/products/dobot-cr10-collaborative-robotic-arm
I wondered if such a robot could theoretically work?
Certainly, it’s just if you choose a normal articulated robotic arm, it would be really expensive, and unlikely to do as good a job as something purpose built to clean windows.
Seems very similar to this idea back from 2021: Skyline Robotics Ozmo automates skyscraper window cleaning - The Robot Report
Regarding attachment, does a robot need to be permanently welded? Or are there possibilities for a less permanent attachment (allowing it to potentially move from the gondola)?
No, you should be able to use bolts.
And do the robots always come in one piece, or are they in components (fairly easily) disassembled, allowing them to be moved?
Most professional and industrial robot arms come preassembled to ensure they work, and avoid any assembly issues (and quite complex too). An exception to this is the Lynxmotion PRO: https://www.robotshop.com/collections/lynxmotion-ses-pro-modular-system-robotic-arms
However, the standard arms only reach 900mm.
Generally speaking (and only an opinion), using a robotic arm to clean windows seems about as complex as building a humanoid robot to mow the lawn. There are likely far simpler and less costly solutions which are even more effective. What those might be is really up to you to research.
What comes to mind is something like an XY plotter, supported at the top corners of the building, and perhaps a third wire connecting to the ground, with one degree of freedom to press a rotating brush against the window. One would be needed on each side of a rectangular building, and multiple units could even cover several floors each.
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