The advent of robotics in car wash equipments

A robot is defined as a mechanical device that isUltrasonic sensors are another carwash transducer.
meant to do the work of a human being. In fact it canThis refers to the sound wave frequency that is
work harder than a human being since it is activatedabove the normal hearing range of a human being.
by sound waves and radiant energy. Robots play anPhysical therapy, welding plants and distance
important role in all types of cleaning, moving, lifting andmeasuring equipments use ultrasonic sensors to do
various other jobs. They have also entered the cartheir work.
washing industry to bring out perfectly and effectivelyThe ultra sonic sensor that is applied in car washing
cleaned cars.transmits sound waves that reflect off the surface of
In this car wash equipment process performed by thean object and then come back to the source or to the
robots, it uses a feed back loop by which information ispaired receiver. The distance is then calculated by the
transmitted from the carwash equipments that aretime spent between the sending and receiving of the
fixed at various points where the vehicles is shifted tosound waves.
and from while being cleaned. With the help of theseIn this technology the brush and the touch less
transmitting sources mechanical energy getsautomatic equipments benefit by the ultrasonic car
converted to electrical energy in a process calledwash robotic equipment. In this way the chemical
transducers.consumption and the water consumption are reduced
These transducers play a very important role in thewhen the spray arm is used for cleaning the side of
robotics method of Car Wash Systems. Vehicles ofthe vehicle.
varying height and length can be cleaned by thisWith ultrasonic sensors vehicle drivers can be
method. The robot is programmed to clean eachinstructed to steer their vehicle either to the left or right.
vehicle according to its size. This method is adopted toIn the case of tall vehicles the upper brush halves are
improve the chemical consumption and the quality ofengaged to perform rear arm oscillation. These and
the way along with other functions as well.many more functions are available with ultra sonic
The roller arm is a device used to sense all carwashsensors. In short, they are very important in robotic car
equipment from the brush arm movement to thewashing.
overhead door position. In this way the car getsNow coming to the future one may begin to think what
completely clean leaving no part out including thetype of robotic technology one might see. It could be
windshield and the door jams etc.just anything like human like figures walking stiffly all
The modern transducer does its work without physicalaround doing more work than a human being. The car
contact with the vehicle. Instead the loop detector isindustry has faced this challenging robotics in their
used to sense the vehicle’s presence whileindustry and has increased their profitability. But at the
cleaning. They are fitted with a photo-eye that sendssame time it’s hard to find low cost labor that is
signals to the PLC. The signal strength can behigh in quality. Customers should be treated with
adjusted. It should be fixed properly by applying tape toutmost care and attention or one would lose good
the receiver eye lens leaving a small area in the middlecustomers.
uncovered.Though washing may seem a bit simple drying a car
The next robotic in car wash equipment Installation isused to be a bit difficult. But this is not anymore with
the proximity switch. It is the metal detector in carthe introduction of the robotics in car washing. Surely
washes. It is able to sense metal like the loop detectorduring the winter months cars get crusted with snow
but only with a finer accuracy. Since this is a sensingand salt from icy roads. The robotics need to be
unit care should be taken when adjusting or replacingtrusted during these times. They would complete the
the proximity switch. Care should be taken to set thework instantly and impressively. If a car is parked
right distance between the sensing end of switch andbetween to points and a robot is put to use it would
the target. It should be perfect to thedry the car perfectly well without pressing down on
manufacturer’s specification.the vehicle by using the Haptic Sensor technology.