Much is currently being made about the way AI will change the way people work in the future.
But the technology is even impacting on the way that tall buildings are maintained by traditional window cleaners.
As our Broad Street video shows below, the usual way is for a canopy to be lowered down the side of a tower.
Earlier this year we filmed workers – who clearly have a good head for heights – manually cleaning the recently-built Mercian Tower. The conditions were sufficiently windy enough for the cage to be seen swaying.
Now there’s another way – using a drone controlled from pavement level by an operator.
Kalum Palmer from Cardiff-based company KTV Working Drone this week became the first person to clean Bridge Street’s striking Hyatt Regency Hotel by drone.
Mr Palmer said his skills as a computer gamer were essential when it came to operating the machine via genuine multitasking.
That’s because he has to concentrate on where the drone is in relation to what it’s doing, how effectively it’s cleaning, what the wind speed is, how the water pressure is bearing up and what the battery level is etc – all the while never being distracted by anything happening at ground level where colleagues help to maintain the exclusion zone.
The chemical-free system uses purified water with ‘reverse osmosis’ – heated to 70 degrees and applied with high pressure, it operates to ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 international quality standards.
Mr Palmer said: “Computer gaming skills can be good for a lot of jobs including surgery.
“It takes at least an extra 50 hours of training above a normal drone qualification to operate a machine like this – and it’s not something you can do all at once, just in stages.
“But for what it costs to install, maintain and operate a traditional system for cleaning a building of this nature, the drone is much more cost effective for clients and it’s better for workers’ health and safety, too.
“In cities like Birmingham, we don’t need to close off a tram line, for example, so everybody benefits.
“To keep it sparkling, a building like this should be cleaned four times a year and it can take a week each time to do it properly.
“After the Hyatt, we’re off to Canary Wharf in London but we’ve already had several inquiries about coming back to Westside.
“It’s all about extending the life of a building’s materials and finishes and, if you are staying in a lovely hotel, it’s nice to be able to look out of a clean window!”
KTV Working Drone claims the system is between 5-10 times quicker than conventional methods, with easier access to difficult-to-reach areas.
The company website adds: “It is the most innovative business idea that the cleaning industry has seen in more than 100 years.”
Founded as a Norwegian industrial cleaning company in 1992 by Kennet Nilsen, the KTV Group can even clean oil rigs.
It began to pioneer drone window cleaning in 2022 and, with solar panel cleaning now part of its services, it is spreading around the world and is looking to apply its technology for spray painting, repairs, inspections, surface treatment.
In the past month alone, it has been expanding in countries as diverse as Romania, Mauritius and Australia.
In future, it even plans to enable drone pilots to be able to work globally via the internet. For more details visit ktvworkingdrone.com
Pictures and video for Westside BID by Graham Young
Excellent article. Very interesting read. Amazing how drones are coming in to do essential work, more safely.
The future is buzzing.