The Problem - Roof Algae Stains

Many of the approximate 133 MILLION residential tile and shingle roofs in the U.S. suffer from unsightly black algae stains, but it's cost prohibitive to pay for a cleaning crew to scale your house and also a risk to your tile and shingles for damage caused by walking and high pressure spraying.

The Solution - Roof Cleaning Drone

We will be creating a cost effective Roof Cleaning Drone capable of spraying a cleaning solution on roof tops and sharing the completed design.

Today 'Agro-Sprayers' exist but are cost prohibitive and designed to carry the tank, pump, and additional battery all the way to its destination by including them within the drone itself.  This increases weight, reduces flight time, limits the amount of spraying given the tank capacity, and requires a larger and more costly drone platform.

The Tether Approach

Our novel spraying system will be unique to the roof cleaning industry. We will be utilizing a sprayer boom attached to the drone tethered by a 3/8 inch tubing fed from a pump based ground station.  This affords far greater tank size, greatly reduced weight, and allows for smaller and more affordable drone platforms to be utilized. 

Most residential two story houses are ~20 ft in height. Given a 3/8 inch outside diameter / 1/4 inch inner diameter tubing, the 'water' weight is .02 lbs per foot, or .4 lbs per twenty feet. The weight of a 20 foot reinforced vinyl tubing is 1.2 lbs bringing the total weight of tubing and water per 20 ft of length at 1.6 lbs. We'll have the actual total length of tether to be 60 ft equating to a total of 4.8 lbs, which is well within the drones lift weight capacity.  

The ground base sprayer unit will be a high-pressure sprayer and will feed the tether hose tubing attached to the boom sprayer. The sprayer itself will be a wet boom sprayer that will be affixed to the drone gimbal. The 3/8 inch feeder hose from the base pump unit will be connected directly to the boom. The boom will be constructed from 48 inches of 1/2 inch PVC and drilling 4, 3/8 inch nozzle holes. The boom sprayer nozzles will have 5 spray outlets. We will be adding a 12V remote control to the base sprayer unit allowing for easy in flight control of starting and stopping the sprayer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Drone System - Parts List

Drone Platform

We will be starting with a DJI S1000+ UAV, and adding on a liquid reservoir and bar with adjustable sprayers.  The DJI S1000+ is necessary given it's takeoff weight of 13 to 24 pounds.

Spreading Wings S1000+ + A2 + Zenmuse Z15-BMPCC - $4,550.00

(see below for more info regarding the gimbal and it's usage)

http://store.dji.com/product/spreading-wings-s1000-plus-a2-zenmuse-z15-bmpcc

DJI - S1000+ Installation Demonstration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej1lM5EIovU

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Transmitter  / Receiver

Futaba 14SGH 14-Channel 2.4 GHz Computer Radio System - $549.96

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1062194&gclid=CjwKEAjw3PGtBRCWgajpu_uY9hYSJAAICRaltDoDARdcs5unTlsj7H5MjMlY2GL57tdky0U1OKjvQBoCLRHw_wcB&is=REG&m=Y&A=details&Q=

Binding the DJI A2 Flight Controller with the Futaba T14SG Transmitter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr7RJDRsUlM

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Gimbal

We'd like to be able to alter the spraying angle in real time via the gimbal but initially we will be fabricating our own 'fixed position' gimbal that the wet boom will be affixed to. Additionally we'll affix the wet boom to the Zenmuse gimbal and test altering the spraying angle in flight. Trade off analysis will need to occur between the added weight of the Zenmuse versus the benefit of altering the spraying angle in flight.

 Meccano-Erector - Super Construction Set, 25 Models, 640+ Parts - $99.99

(simple erector set to fabricate our own fixed position gimbal)

http://www.amazon.com/Meccano-Erector-Super-Construction-Models-Parts/dp/B000GOF5S2

Zenmuse Z15-BMPCC - 2.8 lbs

http://www.dji.com/product/zenmuse-z15-bmpcc/feature

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Drone Battery

20000MAH LIPO FLIGHT BATTERY WITH AS150 CONNECTORS - $399.00 - 6.5 lbs

http://www.uavdirect.com/20000-MAH-6S-25C-LIPO-BATTERY-p/bat-lp-20k.htm

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Drone Battery Charger

LIPO 6S FAST CHARGER WITH 50 AMP POWER SUPPLY - $399.00

http://www.uavdirect.com/6S-FAST-CHARGER-WITH-50-AMP-POWER-SUPPLY-p/bat-chg-fast-1500.htm

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Sprayer System - Parts List

Sprayer

NorthStar High-Pressure ATV Tree Sprayer — 16 Gallon, 2 GPM, 12 Volt - $349

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_405991_405991?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Lawn%20%2B%20Garden%20%3E%20Sprayers&utm_campaign=NorthStar&utm_content=268180&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=268180&gclid=CjwKEAjw0NytBRD-1d3QsdHNpR0SJACGXqgRSjwSIzy2LcIghFVzgY5BqKHxlljdkazlsORa2TFMNhoCVmbw_wcB

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PVC (for wet boom)

 1/2 in. x 10 ft. PVC Sch. 40 Plain-End Pipe - $2.03

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-1-2-in-x-10-ft-PVC-Sch-40-Plain-End-Pipe-530048/100113200

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Boom Sprayer Nozzles

QJ350 Compact Nozzle Body Series - QJ355-1/2-NYB - 4 x $15.56 = $62.24

http://www.agwerks.ca/new_equipment/listing.php?categoryID=107&productID=1441

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Braid Reinforced Clear PVC Hose

3/8 in. O.D. x 1/4 in. I.D. x 100 ft. Tubing - $15.99

http://www.newageindustries.com/datasheet.asp?PN=1000307&FAM=Tubing

or

http://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=HPpvc025-100ft

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Sprayer Motor Remote Control

Fimco 12-Volt Remote Switch - $24.99

http://www.cabelas.com/product/FIMCO-VOLT-REMOTE-SWITCH/1853175.uts?productVariantId=3936299&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=42-75133863-2&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=03957453&rid=20

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Sprayer Battery

Solo 9.2 Ah Backpack Sprayer Battery for Solo Models 416 and 417, 12V - $52.14

http://www.amazon.com/Solo-Backpack-Sprayer-Battery-Models/dp/B00YFT9850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438353402&sr=8-1&keywords=12v+battery+for+sprayer

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Sprayer Battery Charger

NOCO Genius G15000 12V/24V 15A Pro Series UltraSafe Smart Battery Charger - $159.95

http://www.amazon.com/NOCO-G15000-UltraSafe-Battery-Charger/dp/B00PKIBVU0/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&srs=3022124011&ie=UTF8&qid=1438353697&sr=1-1

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Center Frame Enclosure

Additionally a plastic enclosure will be created for the central control area of the Drone to keep moisture out.  3D printing to the rescue.  We'll be using Google SketchUp to design the molding, and 3DHubs.com to farm out the design to be printed.

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 The Build Team   Wayne Dehart Sr. - Age 79, Master Fabricator / Patriarch, retired military, Vietnam Veteran. Wayne Dehart Jr. - Age 52, BS in Math, Most intelligent son of Wayne Sr.  David Dehart - Age 56, BS in Math, Tied for 2nd & 3rd most intelligent son of Wayne Sr.  Kent Dehart - Age 54, BS in Math, Tied for 2nd & 3rd most intelligent son of Wayne Sr.  Connor Dehart - Age 14, Master video game controller, Most intelligent son of Wayne Jr.