A drone that paints walls by holding on to them

PrintDrone presses itself onto a wall with its own propellers, drives along it on wheels, and sprays paint from the tank it carries. No hose, no cable, no lift.

Holding on to the wall keeps the spray at a steady distance and speed, which an even coat needs. The design is complete; the first full-size drone is not yet built.

How it works

  • It holds on with its propellers.The drone tips onto the wall, and its propellers keep pushing it there. No suction and no magnets.
  • It drives on motorized wheels.It moves along the wall at a set speed instead of drifting in the air.
  • It carries its own paint and battery.Nothing trails down to the ground, so it can work where a hose or cable would snag.

Patents

The patents cover a drone that is not tied to the ground, drives along a wall on motorized wheels while it hovers, and paints from a tank it carries. They run to 22 April 2035.

US 9,815,078 B2United States, granted 14 November 2017
EP 3 134 316 B1Europe, granted 22 May 2019, in force in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain
IL 248346Israel, granted 31 July 2017

What has been done

  1. International patent filing for the invention.
  2. A 5 kg printing drone shown on video.
  3. The sixth prototype held itself on an indoor wall, drove on four wheels and printed up to four A4 sheets per flight while driving.
  4. A complete design for a full-size painting drone of about 24 kg, with a parts list, a test plan and a budget.

What we are looking for

A partner to fund building and testing the first full-size drone, with a team it chooses, or a company that wants to license the patents.

Contact

Roi Neustadt, inventor and patent holder