It’s named Ibex, after the gravity-defying goat that clambers up mountainsides. But the AI-powered robot wasn’t climbing mountains in Uptown Dallas this week—it was clambering down the side of 17Seventeen McKinney, offering a window on the future of how skyscrapers can be cleaned.

The demos were the first ever to be conducted in the U.S. by Israeli-based Verobotics. They were arranged through a partnership between Verobotics and Dallas-based Gaedeke Group, a commercial real estate firm that provides investment, acquisition, management, leasing, construction management, and portfolio management services with a portfolio extending from Texas to Arizona, Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C.

One of Verobotics’ Ibex robots was poised in a stationary position for viewing on the 7th floor patio area of 17Seventeen McKinney. [Photo: Gaedeke Group]

Gaedeke Group is an investor in Verobotics, Armon Golliday, head of marketing and tenant relations at Gaedeke, told Dallas Innovates. Golliday said his company was proud to host the Verobotics team “for their U.S. launch.”

Along with its HQ in Tel Aviv, Verobotics now has an office in Dallas as well as one in Hong Kong. According to the Times of Israel, Verobotics signed a $5.4 million deal in January 2023 to provide upkeep and maintenance of skyscrapers in Hong Kong, marking its first entry into the Asian market.

Gaedeke owns and manages 17Seventeen McKinney, which accounts for the demos’ location. The robots were set up on the roof of the 19-story building and worked their way down. Guests attending the demos viewed the action from the building’s 7^th floor patio area—and got a close-up look at a stationary robot suspended at the 7th-floor level.

Verobotics robot clambers its way down the facade of 17Seventeen McKinney. [Photo: Gaedeke Group]

Onboard cameras and AI tech support ‘predictive maintenance’

Verobotics Co-Founder and CEO Ido Genosa was on hand for the demos in Uptown Dallas this week, explaining that Ibex does more than just stutter-step its way down high-rises, cleaning windows and facades in its path. 

Equipped with onboard cameras, the robot is able to scan surfaces, detect and navigate around window frames, and ensure complete coverage “down to the last spot,” the company says. But the robot leaves windows and facades more than just clean—it gathers data along the way.  

That data supports what Verobotics calls “predictive maintenance,” removing uncertainties by providing “proactive facade care.” The company says this capability helps streamline building upkeep, minimizes long-term costs, and extends the life of a building’s facade—all while “elevating the safety” of the window-cleaning process.

A close-up view of Verobotics’ AI-powered window-cleaning robot. [Photo: Gaekeke Group]

‘Up to four times faster’ than human crews

Verobotics says its high-tech robots work up to four times faster than human crews. Two key reasons: They’re able to operate continuously without breaks (no lunch needed), and can be deployed on-demand for “consistent, high-frequency cleaning.”

“Just like we take our expensive car to be washed and serviced often—we should care for our buildings the same way,” Verobotics says on its website. 

Traditionally, window-cleaning operations in high-rises put workers at risk, Verobotics noted. Instead, the company’s AI-powered robots tackle the job autonomously, delivering a significant leap “in both safety and performance.”

Attendees at the Verobotics demonstration. [Photo: Gaedeke Group]

One person can deploy multiple robots—creating ‘a digital twin’

The company says Ibex is lightweight and portable and requires no other equipment on the roof (unlike the building maintenance unit atop most high-rises, used to raise and lower window-cleaning gondolas). Since Ibex works autonomously, a single person can deploy multiple robots to a building’s facades “and let the robots do the rest,” Verobotics says.

Once the robots finish their work, the building owner gets more than just a clean building. The robots basically map out “a digital twin” of the building exterior, which can be used “to document the exterior health and identify any issues before they become risks,” the company says.

On another building outside the U.S., Verobotics’ Ibex shows off its stutter-stepping technique. The AI-powered robot window cleaner is named after the gravity-defying goat. [Photo: Verobotics]

Onboard sensors combine tech from aerospace, robotics, and AI

Verobotics says its platform combines some of the most advanced technologies from aerospace, robotics, and AI. The robot’s onboard sensor continuously detects its motion, location, and the surface beneath and around it.

Data from the robot is fed to its data hub, which analyzes a building’s surface in real time. Those datasets “become the backbone of the digital twin of the building,” enabling the owner or service company to predict when service or repairs are needed, the company says.

Gaedeke Group is headquartered at the Regency building at 3710 Rawlins Street in Dallas’ Turtle Creek neighborhood. That’s a 16-story building, by the way. How long might it be before Verobotics robots are seen clambering down that building, too? 

“There are plans for [Verobotics’ robots] to operate in North Texas, and Gaedeke specifically plans to utilize their technology at our North Texas properties,” Gaedeke’s Golliday told us.

Dallas’ robot fans—and maybe WALL-E himself—can’t wait to see it.

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