This AI-powered robot spells the end to one of the most dangerous urban jobs

Window washing is a $40 billion industry. This window-cleaning robot wants a piece of it.

One of the most iconic jobs in the world is heading to the boneyard. The window washers who hang from skyscrapers in New York, London, and other global metropolises are on the brink of becoming a thing of the past. After multiple successful tests runs across the world, Skyline Robotics has installed Ozmo, the world’s first automated window cleaning system in a 45-story office building located at 1133 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. 

The system combines advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and sophisticated sensors to clean windows three times faster than humans. It is bound to completely transform the $40 billion window cleaning industry, Skyline Robotics’ President and COO Ross Blum tells me over an email interview. Window washing represents a big slice of the global cleaning services market, which was valued at $392 billion in 2023.