Patent ID: 7454846

Claim:
Apparatus for automatically sensing rainfall on a flat, paved surface and for automatically drying said surface, comprising: (a) a robotic vehicle having: a chassis, at least one drive wheel connected to said chassis, at least one steering wheel connected to said chassis, a power supply for said drive wheel, said power supply carried by said chassis, at least one sponge roller carried by said chassis, means for raising or lowering said sponge roller, controller means carried by said chassis, said controller means being connected to and controlling said power supply for said drive wheel, said steering wheel, and also being connected to and controlling said means for raising and lowering said sponge roller, and (b) a sensing unit having: rain sensing means for sensing the onset and cessation of rainfall, thermal imaging means for scanning said flat, paved surface and sensing the presence of an area of wetness on said surface, and storage and transmitting means for storing data from said thermal imaging means, and from said rain sensing means, and transmitting said data to said controller means on said robotic vehicle.