Skyline Robotics reveals world's first elevated window-cleaning robot Ozmo

August 15, 2023: Skyline Robotics reveals ‘world’s first elevated window-cleaning robot’ Ozmo.

Its window-washing robot is now active in Tel Aviv and New York and has worked on important Manhattan structures including 10 Hudson Yards, 383 Madison, 825 3rd Avenue, and 7 World Trade Center in partnership with the city’s largest commercial window cleaner Platinum and real estate giant The Durst Organization. 

The machine is suspended from the side of a high-rise. A robotic arm with a brush attached to the end cleans the window following instructions from a LiDAR camera, which uses laser technology to map 3D environments. The camera maps the building’s exterior and identifies the parameters of the windows. 

“What the LiDAR is doing as the basket is descending is sort of painting itself a picture of the facade it’s facing,” Blum said.

Although a human operator controls the Ozmo at the top of the building, chief operating officer and founder Ross Blum said the robot could be operated remotely.

“That person, other than regulation, doesn’t have to be there for our sake,” Blum said. “We could, in theory, remote-control Ozmo from different parts of the world.”

Reverse osmosis removes contaminants from the water, hence the name Ozmo. According to Blum, this makes the cleaning process more efficient.

“We don’t need a separate squeegee and a separate brush to get a spotless window,” he said. “It’s one motion,” he said.

HeAccording to Skyline Robotics board member and Platinum CEO James Halpin, the current cost of the Ozmo is approximately $500,000, which has a three-to-five-year payback for building owners.