①The growth in tall buildings worldwide, most of which have large glass panes, has led to a great need for window washers. Though the job, which earns workers as much as $35 an hour, can be lucrative, accidents are not uncommon. However, the dangerous chore may soon be done by Ozmo, an intelligent window cleaning robot, with humans controlling from the safety of the ground.
②Much like humans, Ozmo, hanging off the sides of the building, uses its arms and brushes to clean the dirt on the glass panes. A 3-D map of the building programmed into its system allows the robot to skillfully move up and down. Computer vision and touch sensors(传感器) enable it to move out of the way in case of unexpected events, such as the sudden opening of a window. And the robot will self-correct and move around it so as not to break a window.
③Unlike other window washers, the robot cleaner does not require soap or Windex to clean the glass. Instead, it uses purified water and a process called reverse osmosis(反渗透) to do the job. It is environmentally friendly.
④While it takes three cleaners 480 hours each to clean the windows of a 40-story glass building, the robot will single-handedly complete the task in just 80 hours. However, unlike other robots, Ozmo will not take the place of human workers, only making their jobs safer. Human workers will control the robot from below.
⑤Whether Ozmo, which is still being tested, does as good a job as humans remains to be seen. Past efforts to use a robot to do this dangerous job have not been successful, because the machines do not have the same eye as humans and often miss the soot(烟垢) collected on window corners.
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