March 2023
Twice a year, give or take, high-rise dwellers look forward to the window cleaning ritual. All that dirt and grime gets cleaned off windows by those brave or crazy enough to hang on the outside of buildings holding a pail and squeegee.
The ritual may be nearing an end.
A window cleaning robot is in test to mimic the actions of human window washers. It removes the risk to people cleaning windows and the industry’s reliance on manual labour. This is intimidating and dangerous work few are willing to do.
The robot can withstand wind and cold, work faster than humans, and can clean windows in cold or windy weather; periods when window cleaning is currently put on hold.
For now, we will have to be content on watching acrobats swing back and forth while cleaning windows when the weather is conducive.
