🏢 Autonomous Flight Mode

VertiClean

An autonomous building facade-cleaning flight mode for the Sherpa industrial drone. Built using Auterion SDK (C++), VertiClean replaces fully manual piloting — operators trigger a complete facade-cleaning cycle with a single button press, with configurable parameters for building size and geometry.

Platform Sherpa Drone · Skynode X / Orange

Role Lead Developer & Flight Tests

Period Sep 2024 — Mar 2026

Company LucidBots (Lucid Drone Technologies)

C++Auterion SDKPX4 SITLSIHAMC ROS 2LiDAR

// overview

What It Does

The Sherpa drone is an industrial platform used for high-rise building facade cleaning — a task that traditionally requires constant manual piloting. VertiClean automates this entirely: the operator arms the drone, positions it at the starting corner of a facade, and triggers the cleaning cycle. The drone handles the rest.

The flight mode executes a structured vertical sweep pattern — moving upward along the facade, shifting laterally, then descending — repeating until the full facade is covered. Parameters like altitude range, lateral step size, and descent speed are all configurable via AMC (Auterion Mission Control) on-site, without a software update.

VertiClean was validated in SITL and SIH simulation before any real-world flights, allowing safe iteration on the flight pattern logic. Field testing was then coordinated directly with operations teams, with real-time debugging via ULog flight data analysis.

button press to start full facade cleaning cycle

30m

horizontal cleaning range (left/right) demonstrated in field

constant standoff from facade via LiDAR distance lock (Phase 2)

80%

target VertiClean usage on all Sherpa flights by end of 2025

// how it works

Flight Logic

Arm & Position

Operator arms the drone in Position mode and manually flies it to the starting corner of the facade at the desired altitude. No pre-programmed waypoints — the drone uses its current position as the origin.

Trigger VertiClean

A single RC switch flip or AMC button press activates the custom flight mode. PX4 hands control to the Auterion SDK C++ application, which takes over position setpoints via the SDK's flight control interface.

Vertical Sweep Execution

The drone executes a structured sweep: climb along the facade column, lateral shift by the configured step width, descend the column, shift again — repeating until the full width is covered. Speed, step size, and altitude limits are configurable parameters.

LiDAR Distance Lock (Phase 2)

A front-facing LiDAR maintains a constant 3 m standoff from the building surface throughout the cleaning cycle, compensating for facade irregularities. Left/right radar sensors detect boundary edges to determine when to shift columns.

Completion & Return

Once the full facade pattern is complete, the drone holds position and returns control to the operator, or optionally triggers an RTL (Return-to-Launch) sequence.

// roadmap

VertiClean Autonomy Roadmap

Phase 1

May 2025

✓ Delivered

"Click & Clean" — Zero-Config Enablement

Hard-coded defaults, single-button trigger via AMC and joystick. No operator configuration required. Saif responsible for full delivery. First version deployed to the Sherpa fleet.

Phase 2

Jun – Dec 2025

In progress

Productionize VertiClean 2.0

Field pilot feedback loops and operator training
LiDAR-based distance locking (constant 3 m standoff)
Left/right radar boundary detection for automatic column shifting
Configurable parameters exposed via AMC for on-site adaptation

Phase 3

Jan – Jul 2026

Planned

Full CV/SLAM Autonomy

360° LiDAR + depth camera for facade mapping
Jetson SBC running ROS 2 path generator
Dynamic obstacle avoidance
Target: drone cleans a 30 m facade end-to-end with zero manual inputs

Phase 4

Aug – Oct 2026

Planned

Sherpa 2 Integration

Production image for Sherpa 2 platform with full VertiClean out-of-box demo. GPS-denied operation using VIO/SLAM navigation stack on Jetson Orin NX.

// technical details

Implementation Stack

Flight Control

PX4 (Lucid fork)
Auterion SDK (C++)
Custom flight mode via SDK
Position setpoint control

Hardware Platform

Sherpa industrial drone
Skynode X / Skynode Orange
Front LiDAR (distance lock)
Left/right radar sensors

Configuration

AMC (Auterion Mission Control)
RC switch trigger
On-site parameter tuning
No software update needed

Testing & Validation

SIH simulation (Skynode)
SITL (Gazebo)
ULog flight data analysis
Customer field demos

Phase 3 Stack

ROS 2 (path generator)
NVIDIA Jetson SBC
360° LiDAR
Depth camera

Development

C++ (Auterion SDK)
Docker (AOS packaging)
Git (Lucid PX4 repo)
Mender (OTA deployment)