Publications / 2011 Proceedings of the 28th ISARC, Seoul, Korea

An Experimental Study of Automatic Cleaning Tool and Robot for Facade in High-Rise Buildings

Jin Koo Lee, Jun Hong Ryu, Dong Ju Lee
Pages 1453-1458 (2011 Proceedings of the 28th ISARC, Seoul, Korea, ISBN 978-89-954572-4-5, ISSN 2413-5844)
Abstract:

Due to the development of construction technology, there is a considerable increase in the number of skyscrapers in the world. Accordingly, there are rapid growing requests about maintenance systems such as cleaning, painting, and monitoring the processes of facade in high-rise buildings. However, it is extremely dangerous working the walls of high-rise buildings, and crashes from buildings have accounted for large proportion of constructional accidents. An alternative solution must be developed with the commercialization of automatic robot systems. For the last decade, interest in developing robots for cleaning and maintenance in facade of high-rise buildings has continuously increased. The use of automatic robot systems can be expected to reduce accidents and decrease labor costs. In this paper, we propose a new kind of cleaning mechanism. We have designed and manufactured various cleaning tools and robots for different types of facades with economic commercialization. The cleaning cycle, size, and intensity will be determined by economic constraints as well. The final goals are to design and manufacture tools and robots that can clean facades efficiently and rapidly even in dangerous places. The cleaning tool systems consist of nozzles, brush rollers, and squeezers. Furthermore, these tools and robots perform each process utilizing the systems of built-in guide types and gondola types for building maintenance. The performance of the proposed cleaning tools and robots is evaluated experimentally; however additional study should be necessary for safer and more stable commercialization.

Keywords: Cleaning Tool, Robot, Maintenance, Building Façade, Gondola, Built-in Guide