Gutterpillar: An Eavestrough Cleaning Robot
CWSF · 2026 Curiosity & Ingenuity Silver Medal
Overview
Cleaning eavestroughs is dangerous. Each year in the United States alone there are over 300 deaths caused by falls from ladders (American Ladder Institute, 2018). I made Gutterpillar to ascend a downspout, travel around corners, and clean the entire gutter system without anybody having to climb a ladder! Gutterpillar is segmented to go around corners. It can expand to push on the inside of the downspout so it can climb, and it can contract to fit in the eavestrough under the gutter brackets. It also uses custom molded silicone wheels to grip the downspout walls. I designed the 3D printed mechanisms using Fusion 360, soldered the custom electronics, and coded the ESP32 microcontroller. Gutterpillar can be remote controlled from a phone or computer. A built-in camera on Gutterpillar streams live video to the device. This project demonstrates how robotics could make gutter cleaning far safer!
Awards (2)
- Silver Medal
- Selected for CWSF 2026
Competition history
- CWSF 2026
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