NTU scientists create robot that paints walls quicker, improves safety

SINGAPORE — A robot that paints industrial buildings faster, safer, and with less manpower: That’s what scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s Robotic Research Centre have developed, the university said in a media release on Wednesday (Oct 26).

Called PictoBot, the spray-painting robot was co-developed with JTC Corporation and local start-up Aitech Robotics and Automation (Aitech) in a year; and can paint a high interior wall 25 per cent faster than a crew of two painters using a scissor lift.

The PictoBot requires only one person to supervise, and paints by scanning its environment using an optical camera and laser scanner, which helps it to navigate and paint walls up to 10m high. It can work for four hours on one battery charge, and also operate in the dark using sensors.

Principal Investigator Prof Chen I-Ming, director of NTU Robotic Research Centre, said: “Painting large industrial spaces is repetitive, labour intensive and time-consuming. PictoBot can paint while a supervisor focuses on operating it.”

He added that the spray-painting robot could paint more evenly in tests, and had a higher quality of finish compared to current methods.

PictoBot will next be put on trial at industrial developments such as JTC Space @ Gul, said NTU.