Kärcher SRD

Was es macht

Kärcher SRD is a drone for wet cleaning of solar panels. The shipping case in which the drone is sent to users is folded out into a landing station during use, in which the drone cleans its microfibre roll and charges its battery.

Deine Inspiration

The inspiration for the drone's landing station was a toolbox. This is also used to make a product or product system portable in its entirety.

So funktioniert es

With its internal water tank and water nozzles, the drone wets its rotating microfibre roller. The two rotating contact brackets on the front and rear of the drone are used to create a secure contact surface on solar panels at different angles. The contact points of the two brackets are covered with a scratch-free fabric on which the drone glides down the solar panel. The rubber lip under the rear bracket removes residual water from the panel. If the microfibre roll of the drone is dirty, SRD lands on the station and cleans it using the fresh water connection. When landed, the drone docks onto the station's water nozzle and the inductive contact coil for charging the battery.

Designprozess

The briefing for this semester project in collaboration with Kärcher was to design concepts for robots that maintain the value of consumers' property exteriors. Solar panels are an essential part of the energy transition, and the number of photovoltaic systems installed is growing rapidly. So I defined the goal of designing a concept for a robot that cleans solar panels to maintain their efficiency. An autonomous drone is the easiest and most efficient way to deliver a sufficient amount of water and a cleaning brush to the roof. Next, how the drone cleans its cleaning brush and recharges its battery during use had to be solved. This was the origin of the landing station with power and water connections. The scenario of a property and photovoltaic system owner buying a solar panel cleaning drone once in order to have it clean his system two to four times a year did not seem plausible to me. So the idea for a rental model was born. The landing station was designed in such a way that it can be folded up into a shipping case for the drone. This means that photovoltaic system owners can book Kärcher SRD online as a service, receive the drone safely packed in its landing station and have their photovoltaic system cleaned more cost-effectively.

Warum es anders ist

Kärcher SRD differs from other cleaning solutions for photovoltaic systems in its holistic design for use as a rentable service. The product system is designed so that it can be shipped to customers in its entirety and can be used in just a few simple steps by the user.

Pläne für die Zukunft

A concept for an autonomous drone like this is still unrealistic today, but with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, it may become plausible sooner than expected.

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