ASME WinRobo

The ASME WinRobo project is a joint effort between the CMU chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Robotics Club. The goal of this group was to create a window washing robot to compete in the 2008 ASME Student Design Competition. For more information on the ASME Student Design Competition, please visit the official ASME Website

The team's robot, named Rosie Redd Up, took second place at the ASME District B Student Professional Development Conference, held from Arpil 4-6, 2008 in Pittsburgh. A video of the entire competition is available here. (Specific video of CMU competetiing starts around the 2:35 mark)

Rosie, built according to strict guidelines set forth by the competetion, was designed and constructed soley by the student members. The completed robot, complete with a 50 mL payload of water, weighs slightly under 1 kg. Each of the two cleaning pads on the robot houses a vacuum pump and two suction cups, which enable the robot to cling to the window. Each pad also contains a servo motor, which allows the pads to rotate. By turning the vacuum pumps on and off, Rosie can attach and detach her cleaning pads and move around the window by engaging her servo motors.

Rosie also has infrared sensors on her cleaning pads which enable her to detect the edge of the window. Rosie also uses a microcontroller with custom programming to operate her various components, making her a completely autonomous robot.