By Barley Lewis-McCabe

On Sept. 3 Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH) tested a space-age way to clean our buildings, a power washing drone piloted by a window washer standing safely on the ground. The drone was first used at Behavioral Social Sciences (BSS), one of the dirtiest buildings at our university. 

Mathematics department chair Tyler Evans has been in BSS since it opened in 2007, and has never seen the windows get cleaned. 

“That’s not to say they haven’t been doing it, just that I’ve never seen anybody washing the windows,” said Evans.

Due to BSS’s unique position, washing the windows has been an uphill battle. Trees and hillsides prevent window washers from being able to safely clean the north and south windows, the Native American Forum building is also in the way of the north side. The west and east buildings could be cleaned by hand, but the equipment that would bring a worker safely to the windows would cost $15,000 a month to rent.

The drone shoots a blast of water mixed with a cleaning solution to get the gunk off of the windows without ever touching them. While no detergent was used in the recent test, CPH said that they would use an environmentally safe, biodegradable cleaning solution. 

The University did its test with Lucid, an AI robotics company specializing in autonomous construction robots, but primarily cleaning robots. Interim Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Travis Fleming said that the drone wouldn’t be replacing a traditional window washer; it would only be another tool at their disposal.

“We were just looking at ways in which we can support our staff to do something safe, safer, than being up high in the air, [something] less strenuous on their bodies,” Fleming said. “We’re trying to uncover every rock to see what our options are to be able to help support the campus and keep our buildings clean.”

Some students think the new technology is a good use of resources, but feel like a drone popping up during your study session could be a bit frightening.

“If we can’t get people up there and the windows are fucking disgusting I don’t see a problem with it,” said Miles Agathen, sophomore elementary education major. “If someone doesn’t know what’s happening or they’re not actively washing the windows I can see how they would be freaked out.”

The University is aware that not all students may be as enthusiastic about window washing drones.

“[We recognize] that there is a lot of discomfort with drone technology being used in a college campus,” Fleming said. “Before any decision would be made — whether we’re hiring a company with a drone or purchasing a drone ourselves — we would be willing to listen to all those concerns and try to make people feel more comfortable with the decision like that.”

The University has not yet decided if they will implement the drone, either by buying one and cleaning the windows in-house or working with a company specializing in drone washing. 

Barley is the good-timing Editor In Chief of The Lumberjack, as well as a jack of all trades news writer. Contact him for any reason at bl258@humboldt.edu