OutoBot: the robot to wash and paint high-rise buildings

OutoBot: the robot to wash and paint high-rise buildings

An innovative robotic system that can clean building exteriors using water jets or give new coats of paint is now ready to serve customers in Singapore.

It is co-developed by local pioneer in automated controls and biometric contactless systems ELID Technology International and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), ranked 4th globally for Engineering and Technology in the recent Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2017.

Named OutoBot, this patent-pending automation is locally built and will improve productivity while enhancing workplace safety. It needs only half the manpower to run and can work for longer hours as compared to manual methods, notes a press release from the University.

For the washing or painting of a building façade, a team of five is usually required – two on the ground and roof top, with three cleaners or painters on the gondola. 

Instead, Outobot requires only two workers – one operator on the ground and one as a safety officer. 

It has a robotic arm equipped with a camera and a spray nozzle that can shoot high-pressure water jets to clean surfaces or to spray paint. No painters or cleaners are required to be on the system’s specially built gondola.

ELID’s first innovation in robotic automation was envisaged in response to the Housing & Development Board (HDB) call for proposals to automate the painting of external HDB building façades, so as to enhance worker safety and increase productivity. 

 

Managing Director of ELID Technology International, Mr Dennis Lim, who first came up with an idea of the robotic system, said it would tackle productivity issues for painting buildings in line with Singapore’s Smart Nation vision.

“With Singapore’s rapidly aging workforce, we need to find ways to enable our employees to continue contributing despite their advanced years,” Mr Lim explained. 

“Using our new robot, we have shown that a labor-intensive job can transformed into one that can be easily done by an older worker, and at the same time eliminating the risk of employees having to work at heights,” added Mr Lim.

Professor Chen I-Ming, Director of the NTU Robotic Research Centre who jointly led the development of OutoBot, said the project is an example of how the university leverages its engineering expertise to improve productivity, while enhancing worker safety.

“Our aim is to make the cleaning and painting of high-rise buildings easier, safer and more cost-effective,” explained Prof Chen, who teaches at NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. “By using spray painting over conventional roller painting, our robot is also more precise and efficient, minimising waste and saving paint.”

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