There is a huge problem in the truck washing industry right now and that is the labor shortage. Truck washes cannot afford to hire illegal aliens because they might be caught and shut down. And truck drivers tend to not like illegal aliens because they are upset that Mexican truck drivers are taking their business away and costing truckers their jobs, therefore will immediately turn them in.
Nevertheless the real truth is that there is a shortage of 185,000 truck drivers expected by the end of 2008. The labor shortage in the United States for quality labor to work in truck washes is also very hard to get considering the unemployment rate currently in the United States of America is only 4.7%. Therefore is necessary for robotic truck washes to do the work rather than human beings.
Robotics is the answer to the unemployment issue, however the robotics currently in the industry are unable to clean the truck more than about 90%, the last 10% needs to be done by humans because someone has to get between all the spaces where the rollover truck washes cannot get to. Consider trying to soap around all the windows, handles, smokestack and fuel tanks; thus you can see the problem.
Optical flow sensors and other sensors that are used in robotics need to be used in the truck wash tunnels to ensure that the truck is washed 100%. This will take some reengineering in the industry although it is the only way the truck washes will ever be able to compete with human labor and quality.
