Safely Soft Wash From a Distance With a Drone

Lucid Bots builds U.S-made robots for dirty, dangerous cleaning work. 

On a recent exterior cleaning job, Sherpa Drone stayed in the air for 1 hour and 53 seconds of continuous cleaning at 3,500 PSI and 8 GPM.

No battery swaps.
No landing every few passes.
Just steady exterior cleaning at height while the crew stayed on the ground.

Our CEO, Andrew Ashur, put it simply: this was the longest commercial drone cleaning flight we’ve ever seen – and a big step toward making drones a true all-day tool on real jobsites.

Why this flight matters

Until now, drone cleaning has been limited by batteries.

A typical day with Sherpa Drone looks like:

• Clean for 10–20 minutes
• Land
• Swap batteries
• Take off, line up again
• Repeat

It works, but you lose time and rhythm on every swap. Jobs get planned around chargers and packs instead of just buildings, water, and crew.

With our new power tether, that equation changes.

By feeding power from the ground, it gives Sherpa Drone effectively unlimited flight time: the practical limit on a job is no longer at the fault of the drone batteries. Limitations become things like crew endurance, site scheduling, generator fuel, etc. rather than remaining battery capacity. We’re not removing constraints entirely, but we are moving them off the drone’s batteries.

On this record flight, the drone didn’t come down because the battery was dead. It came down because the section of work was done.

That’s the shift we care about.

What actually happened on the job

This wasn’t a lab test or a parking-lot demo. It was a live exterior cleaning job with all the usual constraints.

On this flight:

• Mode: High-pressure exterior cleaning at height
• Runtime: 1 hour, 53 seconds of effectively continuous work
• Pressure / flow: 3,500 PSI, 8 GPM
• Crew: Operators stayed safely on the ground

Sherpa Drone handled every pass on the wall. The crew focused on:

• Managing hoses and water supply
• Watching for quality of clean
• Keeping eyes on the site, not on battery timers

Under the hood, we paired the power tether with updated onboard power electronics designed for long flights. From the operator’s point of view, though, it felt simple:

“It just stayed up and kept cleaning.”

That’s the experience we’re building toward.

What this unlocks for operators

For contractors, facility managers, and building service companies, this milestone shows up in a few concrete ways.

1. More work per crew per day
With no battery swaps, more of the day is actual cleaning. Sherpa Drone becomes an all-day workhorse for glass, facades, and other exterior surfaces at height.

2. Less time in lifts
Sherpa Drone does the work at height so crews can stay safely on the ground. That means:

• Fewer lifts to rent, move, and maintain
• Fewer people working on edges, roofs, or swing stages

3. Simpler planning
Instead of planning around chargers and packs, you plan around:

• Water
• Generator fuel
• Crew schedules

In other words, the things you already think about on a pressure washing job.

What’s next

This was Lucid’s first and longest exterior cleaning jobsite flight with the power tether. It’s a milestone, not the finish line.

From here, our team is focused on:

• Repeating long-duration flights on more buildings and surfaces
• Gathering real-world feedback from operators
• Making the power tether available to more Sherpa Drone customers

We automate the ordinary, so humans can do the extraordinary.

If you want fewer people in lifts and more work done from the ground, talk with our team about using Sherpa Drone with the power tether on your next job.

‍

If you’re running a small building-services or cleaning business, you’ve probably heard some buzz about the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA).

You don’t need to be a tax expert to understand it. This bill is a big win for small business owners investing in equipment that helps them grow.

Here’s what it means in simple terms, and how it could save you thousands when you buy a Sherpa Drone before the end of 2025.

What the Big Beautiful Bill Does

According to EisnerAmper’s Contractor’s Cheat Sheet, the OBBBA makes several long-term updates to U.S. tax law designed to boost construction, maintenance, and building upgrades.

Here are the two most important changes for small business owners buying tools or equipment:

1. Permanent 100% Bonus Depreciation
   
   Contractors and building-services companies can now deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment immediately, starting January 2025.
   
   That means if you buy a Lucid Bots Sherpa Drone, a Sherpa Drone and Tethered system, or our Lavo Bot and Sherpa Drone combo,  you could potentially write off the entire amount this year and not spread it over 5 or 7 years like before.
   
   EisnerAmper notes that this provision now applies to both new and used assets, and it’s permanent, so you get the deduction right away, improving your cash flow.
   
   
2. Expanded Section 179 Deduction
   
   The OBBBA also raises the Section 179 deduction limit to $2.5 million, with a phase-out beginning at $4 million.
   
   Section 179 lets small businesses deduct equipment purchases that are actively used for work. So this is your trucks, pressure washers, and yes even our drones.
   
   As EisnerAmper’s Real Estate update explains, this expansion makes Section 179 far more powerful for smaller operators, especially those upgrading tools, vehicles, or building systems.
   
   

How This Works in Real Life

Let’s say you run a small exterior-cleaning or maintenance company and earned $300,000 in profit this year.

You decide to purchase a Lucid Sherpa Drone for $90,000 in November 2025.

If you qualify under Section 179 or 100% bonus depreciation, you can deduct that full $90,000 from your taxable income lowering your taxable earnings to $210,000.

That could translate to tens of thousands of dollars in tax savings, depending on your state and filing status.

Why Timing Matters

Many of these incentives  like 100% bonus depreciation and the higher Section 179 limits are tied to equipment placed in service after January 2025.

But here’s the key:

Projects and purchases made before the end of 2025 are best positioned to take full advantage of the bill before any future tax adjustments or sunsets kick in.

So, if you’ve been planning to expand your cleaning fleet, the 2025 tax year is your window to buy and deploy your equipment.

Why It’s Perfect for Lucid Bots Customers

Lucid Bots builds robots that help you do more with less. Our Sherpa Drones replace risky, slow manual cleaning work  letting you take on bigger jobs with the same crew.

Because drones like Sherpa qualify as business equipment, they can be deducted under the same rules outlined in EisnerAmper’s OBBBA analyses. That means your investment could reduce your tax bill while expanding your capacity.

And if you’re planning to grow your business in 2026, now might be the perfect time to purchase more than one drone to take more advantage of 2025’s powerful tax incentives before they change.

Important Note

This article is for informational purposes only.

It is not financial or tax advice.

Tax laws can change, and your business situation is unique. Always check with your licensed accountant or tax advisor to confirm eligibility before making purchasing decisions.

Bottom Line

The Big Beautiful Bill was designed to reward small businesses that invest in American infrastructure and that includes companies keeping our buildings clean, bright, and safe.

By purchasing your Lucid Bots drone before December 31, 2025, you can:

• Save big on taxes
• Boost cash flow
• Get to work faster with safer, smarter tech

In short: make 2025 the year your business takes flight  and let the Big Beautiful Bill help fund your future.

Is the Lucid Bots cleaning drone easy to fly? The short answer is yes! 

In fact, no prior drone experience is needed. Many of our customers had no prior drone flying experience and they are now flying successfully to complete larger jobs!

If you know how to use a video game controller, then you should be able to fly a Lucid Bots Cleaning Drone successfully. The RC controller has knobs that control flight directions such as forward and backward motion, side to side motion (left or right), height (up or down), rotation (to make the drone turn a different direction), and throttle (speed).

The drone is also equipped with avoid distance quick-select switch, which allows you to choose between multiple distance options while keeping the drone a safe distance from the building, and urban flight capabilities, which allow you to fly safely in urban environments. The drone also has a forward facing radar which can detect objects in front of it and reduce the risk of crashing, as well as fail-safe battery systems. If your battery dies mid-flight, it will automatically land in a safe location!

Sounds easy enough, right? With proper training, you should be able to fly a drone in no time. Lucid Bots partnered with DroneU to provide an easy-to-use, ongoing training through an online training portal. This online training educates you on how to operate the soft washing drone and window washing drone competently and confidently, such as:

• Battery charging
• Flight skills
• Transportation guidelines
• Safety protocols
• And more

Additionally, the ability to receive your Part 107 License is included in our training!

We also offer in-person flight demos at our Charlotte, NC facility where you can see first hand just how easy it can be. Contact us today to schedule yours!