MSU's Winboni robot cleans windows, wins awards
By Tim Stevens 
posted Dec 3rd 2008 7:20PM
posted Dec 3rd 2008 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]
They should make a version that cleans you car.
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.
Or one that actually cleans your windows.
Better alternative to scaffolding 105 stories above the pavement?
Until the AA Batteries run out and it becomes a kinetic weapon from 105 stories.
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.
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.
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
Stupid video...we can read you know! We don't need a whole 20seconds to read a short sentence.
"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!
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...
This seems like a good job for nanites.
too bad its not compatible with apple fanboys. windows only. wahh wahhhhhhhhhh
That's what butt butt camp is for. weee oooooh!
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.
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 ;)
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
Put two face to face, you can use magnets instead of fans, and it'll clean inside and out. plus no fans. so quieter.
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.
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.
I can see this potentially saving lives (and taking jobs) in the future, if they utilized something like this for skyscrapers.
I can see this potentially taking lives.
Convenient. Just slap it on the TV screen during commercials - those 100 inch bastards are perfect for little Winboni.
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.
Except most engineering labs aren't outside.
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.
Hehe that's what I was thinking, good looking and talks about robots, what's not to like xD
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.
this article reminds me of a thing... http://www.futuregame.com/index.php?r=mrburgundy9
Now all I need is one to do my dishes and make my bed and I can fire my maid.
I'm surprised this technology hasn't already been thought of, it would be mighty useful for cleaning multi-story buildings and sky-scrapers.
The freshmen and seniors of my college participated in this project also. They got 4th.
Hey, check out the original story about Winboni at MSU's news site: http://news.msu.edu/story/5754/
Two of my favorite things are on one page: my school and my engadget.
This makes me very proud!
Emily is actually quite a hottie.
Is it just me or do all of them look mighty stoned?
They're not stoned. They just haven't slept in a million years. Like every true tech DIY'er.
They should attach a camera that peers into the windows its cleaning. Yknow.. for shits and giggles!
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!
GO GREEN!