To create a safer alternative to human window washers, a few startups are creating robotic window-washing machines to clean the outside of large buildings.
Key Details
- Two Israeli startup companies, Skyline Robotics and Verobotics, have created robotic window-washing machines to take over window-cleaning jobs in larger cities.
- The robots are artificial intelligence (AI) systems that cling to the sides of buildings and wash and scrub the outside windows.
- The robots are a safer alternative to human washers as it will not risk the lives of the washers, can clean three times faster, and the robots will require a one-time fee instead of payroll payments, and require no breaks.
Why it’s news
Window washing is one of the most dangerous professions—resulting in a few deaths a year in New York City alone. And because of the danger, the price to pay a human to clean windows is higher than it would be to do the job at ground level.
Two Israeli startup companies, Skyline Robotics and Verobotics, have begun pitching their AI-backed window washing machines to large cities, including New York, which has the largest number of skyscrapers in the country.
The robots will be a safer alternative to human window washers who work on some of the largest buildings in the world. Not only will it be safer for humans, but it could also save money as the companies would not have to pay a regular price of window washing.
The average High Rise Window Cleaner salary in New York is $56,562, but the salary range typically falls between $46,842 and $68,019, according to Salary.com, which would be a large amount saved for companies willing to use the robots instead of human washes.
The two companies’ robots work a bit differently as Skyline’s Ozmo is a six-armed machine that sits in the conventional window washer basket, while Verobotics’ system is a 20-pound robot with a brush that is lowered from the roof.
Skyline has recently gotten an investment from the venture arm of the Durst Organization, the developer that owns One World Trade Center, and has teamed up with Platinum, the largest commercial window cleaner in New York, to start running its robots.
The company is also part of an innovation center run by JPMorgan Chase, which is building a new building in New York that will most likely use the robot, according to Skyline Robotics CEO Michael Brown.
Robotics has also secured deals, including a large partnership in Hong Kong where its robots will be deployed on many high-rise buildings, and one of its robots is set to be deployed on a “very iconic building” in New York City this April, according to Verobotics CEO Ido Genosar.