ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Gausium entered the European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards for the first time in 2022. But the company’s achievement in being a joint winner of the Technological Innovation of the Year Award is just the beginning, says global business development director Peter Kwestro.

The Scrubber 50 Pro from Gausium is said to offer a feature that has never before seen in the industry. And it so impressed the judges of this year’s European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards that the company came away with a prestigious accolade.

It was the Auto Spot Cleaning function that helped to win the company a Technological Innovation of the Year Award at the 2022 event in Brussels. Most cleaning robots stick to a precise route mapped out beforehand with the aid of a human cleaner, according to global business development director Peter Kwestro. But he says the Scrubber 50 Pro is different.

“The Auto Spot Cleaning mode allows it to constantly scan the cleanliness of the floor around it,” he says. “The robot then goes directly to the area where the rubbish or stains are detected. This means that instead of following a predetermined cleaning plan it can operate smartly and flexibly according to the real-time situation.”

The Scrubber 50 Pro uses deep-learning algorithms plus 2D LiDAR, 3D and RGB cameras to provide it with high-accuracy environmental perception. This means it can assess the landscape, identify different types of refuse and make decisions on which items to clean away and which are too large for it to handle.

“The robot will even proactively contact the operator via an app message and report any detected rubbish that lies beyond its disposal capacity,” said Kwestro. “This feature will be available soon.”
Most other robots on the market work under the teach-and-repeat principle, he claims. “This requires an operator to manually teach the route before the machine can perform autonomous cleaning,” he said.

“As a result the robot will require frequent human intervention in a dynamic environment because it will quickly become lost when the environment changes – and this can be both time-consuming and unproductive.”

By cleaning only where necessary the Scrubber 50 Pro is claimed to improve efficiency by up to 400 per cent while also significantly reducing the consumption of water, energy and chemicals.

“The Auto Spot Cleaning function also means the Scrubber 50 Pro prevents the spread of stains and contamination to other areas during the day,” said Kwestro. “It’s a huge step forward in autonomous cleaning and one that reduces manual floor-cleaning time.

“The optional workstation allows for automatic charging, water-filling and discharging in order to increase the robot’s uptime and minimise the need for human supervision,” said Kwestro. “Users can also choose from one of five path-planning modes to provide flexibility to customise the cleaning plan according to the site.”

The Scrubber 50 is able to detect layout changes, bypass obstacles and reroute itself to ensure it cleans every part of the floor. “This backtracking mechanism ensures the highest surface coverage and provides the machine with true autonomy along with the competence to work smoothly even in the most complex and dynamic environments.”

The robot has been designed for use in small to medium environments such as offices, hotels, hospitals, banks and sports halls as well as in high-traffic indoor areas such as schools, shopping malls, supermarkets, manufacturing plants and logistics warehouses.

It is made from recyclable stainless steel and uses LFP batteries which have a lifespan of 2,000 cycles. “The built-in five-stage water recycling system also reduces fresh water consumption by around 80 per cent while the robot’s ability to calculate the most efficient cleaning path reduces the use of resources,” said Kwestro.

“The machine can also be integrated with the IoT system of a building, enabling it to go through automatic doors and security gates without human assistance.”

He says he feels proud and honoured to have received the Technological Innovation of the Year Award. “This prestigious award is one of the most sought-after accolades in the entire industry and winning means a lot to us,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve applied for the ECJ award and we believe this is just the beginning. The fact that we were able to stand out from other innovative solutions and be endorsed by a group of industry experts worldwide is a real confidence-booster.

“This win will definitely inspire us to improve further. We will keep on innovating to bring disruptive technologies to the industry.”

gausium.com