MSU's Winboni robot cleans windows, wins awards
by Tim Stevens 
posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 7:20PM
We don't get out too often (blogger skin burns easily); the closest to the great outdoors we come is squinting longingly through windows gone opaque thanks to lack of cleaning. We'd nearly resigned ourselves to a life lived of dim illumination, but now have new hope thanks to Winboni, an award-winning prototype robot from four mechanical engineering students at Michigan State University. The 5 x 5-inch bot uses a fan to stick to the window (not unlike like Takara Tomy's wall-climbing AeroSpider, makes a great gift), and relies on two AA batteries to motor itself around the window, scrubbing all the while. We definitely like the concept and its promise of extra light for our dwellings, but until this thing can find a way to get from one pane to the next without us having to get out of our chairs we'll sadly have to keep squinting through the grime.
[Via The Raw Feed]
[Via The Raw Feed]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gabe @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:32PM
They should make a version that cleans you car.
Chad @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:37PM
The Grand Valley State University robot lost to the MSU robot on a technicality. The event they competed at was about 6 months ago. It could also go from one pane to another.
Saad @ Dec 4th 2008 5:53PM
Or one that actually cleans your windows.
Lowest Ranked @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:33PM
Better alternative to scaffolding 105 stories above the pavement?
Kyle K. @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:26PM
Until the AA Batteries run out and it becomes a kinetic weapon from 105 stories.
Plothole @ Dec 3rd 2008 11:06PM
That problem could potentially be solved by making the actual robot, which would presumably be larger, tethered to the building. The tether cable could provide power, and the mechanism holding it give slack as needed.
Fanfoot @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:34PM
Cool.
I want one when they can make it live in its little house outside to charge, and come out and climb all over the outside of the house and clean all the windows, including taking off the screens temporarily. I figure it will only take a little while to get to that version so I'll wait.
dajimmers @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:37PM
Hooray! Go Green! This is officially my second-favorite robot to come out of my alma mater, the first of course being this:
http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2005/06/msu_robotic_arm.html
Str1ker @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:37PM
Stupid video...we can read you know! We don't need a whole 20seconds to read a short sentence.
maveric101 @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:44PM
"until this thing can find a way to get from one pane to the next without us having to get out of our chairs we'll sadly have to keep squinting through the grime."
buy one for each window!
Fanfoot @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:07PM
Actually, that's a great idea. Just make them really small so they can hide in the sill, and really cheap so you can buy one for each window!
Great way of avoiding the hard problems! Now you just need to solve the size and price issues...
Jeremy @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:53PM
This seems like a good job for nanites.
JerkfacedFed @ Dec 4th 2008 7:46AM
too bad its not compatible with apple fanboys. windows only. wahh wahhhhhhhhhh
bill cant fart @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:42PM
That's what butt butt camp is for. weee oooooh!
Ken Schleh @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:57PM
As a fellow MSU student I am proud to finally see some of our work up on this web page. Its about time... althought it might not be the coolest thing out there its still impressive.
Jon Nelson @ Dec 4th 2008 12:30AM
Not the first time MSU was on Engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/22/researcher-crafts-tattoo-scar-matching-system-to-nab-outlaws/
Not a student, but I lived in the EL area last year. Definitely participated in Cedar Fest, though ;)
MFong @ Dec 4th 2008 9:54PM
ME 471, Design II. Where you're forced to design something for the ASME contest in a semesters time, in addition to the work involved in that class. When I took it, our contest was about launching baseballs autonomously to 3 targets
alexander @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:03PM
Put two face to face, you can use magnets instead of fans, and it'll clean inside and out. plus no fans. so quieter.
Plothole @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:12PM
But you would need two people to align them up. And if the glass is too thick than the magnetic field might not be strong enough to keep them together.
dajimmers @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:42PM
And you wouldn't be able to go an hour without some jerk pulling the inside one off the window, sending its unfortunate brother to an untimely death, or at least flying toward the nearest metallic object.
ZeroCorpse @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:09PM
I can see this potentially saving lives (and taking jobs) in the future, if they utilized something like this for skyscrapers.
kingu @ Dec 4th 2008 1:15AM
I can see this potentially taking lives.
fredwifi @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:15PM
Convenient. Just slap it on the TV screen during commercials - those 100 inch bastards are perfect for little Winboni.
mvp @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:19PM
Batteries? It should just have a slab of solar cells so that it never needs new batteries, plus the fact that it would most likely be outside all day.
JWC @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:24PM
Except most engineering labs aren't outside.
JWC @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:19PM
She's cute and knows what an accelerometer is. Awesome. I heard that girl talking and I was thinking "man that guy sounds like he's in grade school.". Then I see it's a girl, doh.
Good stuff tho guys, kudos for a senior project that's useful and inexpensive.
GenBanks @ Dec 4th 2008 9:28AM
Hehe that's what I was thinking, good looking and talks about robots, what's not to like xD
Bc @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:35PM
They did an awesome job. I was part of a team that competed in this same competition and after going to regionals it was just too much work to get our robot into shape for the national competition. This competition was incredibly hard and for them to achieve what they did is monumental.
Will @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:35PM
this article reminds me of a thing... http://www.futuregame.com/index.php?r=mrburgundy9
Chris @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:55PM
Now all I need is one to do my dishes and make my bed and I can fire my maid.
iPhoney @ Dec 3rd 2008 9:49PM
I'm surprised this technology hasn't already been thought of, it would be mighty useful for cleaning multi-story buildings and sky-scrapers.
Temo @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:02PM
The freshmen and seniors of my college participated in this project also. They got 4th.
Jack @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:55PM
Hey, check out the original story about Winboni at MSU's news site: http://news.msu.edu/story/5754/
jon @ Dec 3rd 2008 11:21PM
Two of my favorite things are on one page: my school and my engadget.
This makes me very proud!
jamie @ Dec 4th 2008 5:58AM
Emily is actually quite a hottie.
Bad Beaver @ Dec 4th 2008 5:50AM
Is it just me or do all of them look mighty stoned?
MarbleMind @ Dec 4th 2008 7:01AM
They're not stoned. They just haven't slept in a million years. Like every true tech DIY'er.
Joe @ Dec 4th 2008 11:18AM
They should attach a camera that peers into the windows its cleaning. Yknow.. for shits and giggles!
joecop120 @ Dec 4th 2008 12:37PM
I was at that competition in Boston, and some of the other robots were very well designed, but were disqualified from minor mishaps. Still, congrats to MSU, their bot scored the highest!
MFong @ Dec 4th 2008 9:50PM
GO GREEN!