In the beating heart of Manhattan, a technological revolution is redefining the traditional profession of cleaning windows in skyscrapers. The startup Skyline Robotics has deployed an innovative window cleaning robot. It's called Ozmo and has already started operating in New York, bringing a radical change to the building maintenance industry.
Ozmo, the window cleaning robot, reinvents urban cleaning
The Ozmo window cleaning robot, created by Skyline Robotics, is becoming a familiar figure in the Manhattan cityscape. Mounted on skyscrapers with its advanced robotic arm and LiDAR technology, this contraption marks a new era in urban maintenance. Why is it called “Ozmo”? Well, because it uses reverse osmosis to remove contaminants from water and achieve more results with less detergent. His presence at work (led by an operator at the top of the skyscraper to be cleaned) shows how robotics can transform efficiency and safety in a historically risky sector.
The window cleaning robot and the future of work
The advent of Ozmo raises crucial questions about the future of work in an increasingly automated world. Second a relationship of the 2020 World Economic Forum, automation will lead to the loss of 85 million jobs by 2025, but will create 97 million jobs that will require reskilling and training. I'm less optimistic, to be honest, but remaining in this limited area (cleaning windows in skyscrapers), workers can also focus on professional retraining to avoid current risks. It's not an easy job. According to a study In a 2016 Brookings Institution report, maintenance and construction jobs, such as window washing, were classified as having a “medium” share of tasks – 30% to 70% – susceptible to automation.
Collaboration between humans and robots, as explored by experts such as Aleksandra Przegalińska from Harvard, opens up new job prospects. The Ozmo window cleaning robot could enable the transfer of workers from dangerous tasks to safer and more advanced roles, promoting a future of work in which automation elevates human potential.
Towards a technological and sustainable future
Skyline has been working on this window cleaning robot since 2017, judging from the work already carried out, it was an excellent project. If he plays his part in a harmonious transformation of work, Ozmo will not be the standard bearer of a cold and automated future, but an important partner who will decree the end of an era of rags and buckets. Maybe the future isn't so bad after all, especially if someone else does the dirty work for us.
