Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Fraunhofer institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) has developed the automatic facade-cleaning robot SIRIUSc for use on the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's headquarters, a high-rise building in Munich, Germany. Design/methodology/approach - The building has a height of 80 m, its facade an area of 4,000 m(2). Apart from the robot that moves along and cleans the facade, the complete, fully automated system consists of a fully automated gantry that secures, supplies energy to and, above all, positions the robot. Part of the project involved completely automating a standard gantry, which is an integral part of the complete facade-cleaning robot system. Findings - This paper presents an overview of the significant basic functions of the robot and the gantry, emphasizing the kinematics, the control and sensor systems for navigation and the cleaning sequence that employs the extensive fully automatic functions of the robot and gantry. Originality/value - The paper presents the first freely climbing facade-cleaning robot for vertical facades without rails effectively in use in Europe
