Grout Bot
Grout Bot
Grout Bot detects grout and cleans it with a skewer and bleach.
Ella
Grout Bot cleans the grout in tile by using a color sensor to detect dirty grout. It will stop when it is too close to an object or no longer detecting grout. It is activated by a button, and will take a picture before and after the grout is cleaned. Plastic forks hold the skewer in place, insuring that it can scrape the maximum dirt each run.

Like a roomba, but better
certainly 🙂
very cool, cleaning bots are definitely the future
Thank you! I agree, I’m really looking forward to see more of these in the future.
I’ve been nagged quite a few times to do clean the tiles in my house as well. I wish I could use something like this!
Thanks! Yeah I think the nagging is very relatable 🙂
Seems that it worked well and you’ve already noted the problems. Very unique build.
Thank you! I really look forward to improving it in the future.
very good way to delete chores
Thanks! I’m always down for something that reduces my work!
Great cleaning robot idea
Thank you!
Really nice idea! I love the practical applications (:
Thanks! It was a lot of trial and error to get those applications working… thank you for your help!
Great way to get yourself out of an unpleasant job!
Thank you! Those types of robots are my favorite 🙂
My entire apartment is tile! I need this 🙂 so badly. You have no idea. The way you attached the paper towel is really cool. I think using machine learning to detect the tile / grout colors would be neat – those colors are so similar – it would be neat it ML could tell them apart!
Thank you! I’ll send you the second generation that will be programmed to clean your entire apartment instead of just one tile. 😉
That is really impressive for the time you had. Great Work!
Thank you! Time constraint was definitely an issue… but glad you enjoyed it!
this is a super practical (and happy looking) robot, love it!
Thanks! I definitely do not regret the happy face addition 🙂
This is so useful, also I love the smiley face!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
My mom hates the grout too and this is a really cool way to help with that!
Thanks! Relatable isn’t it? 😉
This is really cool!! It’s super impressive that you got the robot to tell the difference between the grout and tiles. I love the decoration and the mechanics you used to make it clean the floor. I also like that you noted possible changes and advancements you’d like to make. Great job!!
Thank you! It took a lot of trial and error in order to make it detect the difference… glad you enjoyed it!
Great idea and I like the way you incorporated the sensors in your design! Cool that you’ve began thinking about how to expand on this project, too. Also, you did a great job distinguishing between the grout and tile – sometimes they can look so similar to a sensor.
Thank you! It was definitely a lot of trial and error, but I’m super happy with the result 🙂
Wow! This is such an innovative idea. A good portion of engineering is really “problem finding’ and this is a real problem that hasn’t been solved (we have Roomba etc… but not grout). I also really liked your stance toward iteration and improvement. Fantastic engineering thinking. #WillBuyWhenItComesOnTheMarket
Thank you! I’m really happy I could solve such a relatable problem, and I’ll give you a discount if it ever comes on the market 😉
Really cool project based on a real world problem. I enjoyed your narration and explanation about the project. And from the “Features to Improve” section, it seems like you have plenty of ideas about how to improve your system. Would love to see those integrated!
Thanks! I’m looking forward to seeing those improvements as well!
Nice work! To help with the robot not staying on the path, I wonder if you could use a gyro sensor to measure the angles as to robot move so it could turn left or right as necessary.
Thanks! Yeah it would have been nice if one of those came in the kit… it sounds super interesting, thanks for the idea!
Awesome idea! We spent a good amount of time cleaning our kitchen grout and it is not fun!! I would def buy it. Video was nicely done. Although you could have used Picture in Picture to show what you were describing in the first minute. Great work!!
Thank you! The picture in picture would have been a good idea, thanks for the suggestion!