It’s a Tuesday night, late November. Snow has been falling for hours now, it’s two feet deep at least, and flakes continue to tumble madly from the black sky. Wind screams through the leafless trees, but you can’t hear the frozen wails. You’re inside, warm and care-free at the local flat-roofed establishment. A fire crackles in a corner, painting the room in burnt sienna. Old friends and new acquaintances clink crystal, bubbles rise through tawny drinks, cheers to good health and long life…
This scene could end in one of two ways. The first involves the tons of snow and ice that have accumulated on the roof of the building. The old structure can’t support the weight, and the roof collapses from the pressure, leaving all beneath it in a sad, snowy grave. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The second outcome involves Roofus.
Roofus is a robotic snow-clearing concept imagined by designer Michal Glogowski. Roofus, as its name suggests, was designed to be deployed on the roofs of buildings to do the dull, dirty, dangerous job of clearing snow. The bot uses rotating teeth to break up snow and ice, collecting it in a hopper. The snow is repeatedly dumped at the side of the building until the roof is cleared. Weighing 220 pounds, it probably wouldn’t kill many people even if the roof still did collapse. The bot can also sport lawn mower blades and street sweeping accessories for use during the non-snow months. For the sake of human roof-clearers, I hope this concept gets off paper.

[Yanko Design] VIA [DVICE]