AUTOMATED SYSTEMS
Finally, a window washer that won't be distracted by office indiscretions. This winter, the Fraunhofer Institute - the German research lab that created MP3 - will release SiriusC, a hulking half-ton system of suction cups and sensors designed to clean the world's tallest buildings.
The automated bot scales the sides of skyscrapers, washing and drying about 21.5 square feet of glass every minute. SiriusC is guided by an onboard processor that collects data - like its own whereabouts and the building's window dimensions and surface materials - with optical and tactile sensors. The system uses a vacuum pump to dry the surfaces and to capture any excess water for recycling. SiriusC manages to lose less than 1 quart of H2O per hour. "Designing a cleaning robot that can carry its own supplies was one of our most critical constraints," explains creator Norbert Elkmann, who heads the institute's Robotic Systems team and is working with Volkswagen to create a bot that's reminiscent of the automaker's Beetle. "There was no way we could run a water line down a skyscraper. The water pressure at the bottom of the hose would have been enough to shatter any glass we would have tried to clean."
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