CleanBot V2 (Iteration 1)

Idea:

• As an attempt to design a more specialized cleaning process, we stumble on to a new product Narwal Cleaning Robot (Narwal T10, 2-in-1 Robot Mop & Vacuum With Automatic Mop Cleaning Stat – Narwal Robotics)
• Narwal prides themselves as being the first self-cleaning cleaning robot, which cleans the brushes that are used to mop the floor. This removes the trouble of having to clean the dirty brushes, solving an issue that is prevalent in the market. 
• Building on that, we wanted to create a self-cleaning mechanism that allows for the washing of the cleaning material to be on the go, instead of being purely at the docking station. This allows for application to larger areas like factories, where the docking station could be very far away. 

What it was:

• CleanBot Version 2 develops on this idea by building on CleanBot Version 1. Instead of purely a stationary cloth at the back, we came up with a self-cleaning mechanism that allows the cloth to be continuously washed and reused while on the robot is on the go.

How it works:

• The nozzle will spray water/cleaning solution out onto the floor. The front scrub, which will be turned by a brushless motor, will speed at a speed faster than the wheels, allowing it to scrub the grim off the floor. A cloth that is attached at the back of the robot will be wipe up the grime and dirt that was scrubbed off the floor.
• The cloth will be rotated at fixed intervals and enter the tank of water to be scrubbed by the brush in the water tank. After which, it will be squeezed dry using 2 rollers and is then reused.

Why we changed it:

• As there was only one water tank, we foresee that the water would get dirty very quickly. After a while, we would be cleaning the dirty floor with dirty cloth soaked in dirty water. Therefore, we decided to revamp our idea in CleanBot Version 2 (Iteration 2)

 

CleanBot V2 (Iteration 2)

The modification:

We changed the water tank to be a dirty water tank instead. Clean water will spray on the cloth, washing it , while the dirty water after washing will be collected in the dirty water tank instead. This ensures that the cloth will be washed with clean water instead of being soaked in dirty water after a period of usage.

Why we changed it:

After feedback from Dr Ho and Mr Tony, we realized that the cleaning mechanism itself can be a project on its own. The complexity of the project, as well as the lack of time made us reconsider our idea. Mr Tony recommends us to separate the cleaning robot into 2 modules: the movement frame and the cleaning frame. This would allow us to start purchasing, as well as start building, rather than taking a large amount of time to plan out everything properly before building.