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A robot that vacuums, scrubs toilets and wipes down kitchen counters for €26 an hour is already making its way into homes in San Francisco, in the United States.
US start-up Tau Robotics is offering its humanoid robots as household cleaners, taking on the kind of complex, varied domestic work that robotics companies have spent years trying to automate.
The service has been operating for about a month and has already cleaned more than 50 apartments and condominiums across the city. The company says demand is growing, with prospective customers now joining a waiting list.
Tammie Siew has let the humanoid robot clean her apartment for the first time.
“The fact that it stumbles a little bit almost makes it endearing. A little bit like watching a child,” Siew said.
“I think that’s kind of like how it’s entering society. It’s not about expecting it to be completely perfect.”
For Siew, the appeal is simple. There are some chores she would happily hand over to a machine.
“I don’t want to clean the toilet. I’m willing to wait a little bit more and read a book or do some work. So I’m very excited,” Siew says.
Using cameras and depth information that helps them perceive their surroundings, the robots are designed to work in ordinary homes, according to Tau Robotics.
The company says its robots can vacuum floors, clear clutter, take out rubbish and wipe down surfaces. They can move everyday household objects such as chairs, laundry baskets and small tables to clean around them.
And having a robo-maid might not be as expensive as you’d imagine.
For now, the robots can work for only one hour at a time. A session with one robot costs $30 (about €25.7), while sending two costs $60 (about €51.5).
The company says it plans to offer longer cleaning sessions in the future, giving customers more choice.
Humanoid robots move beyond the demo stage
Humanoid robots have long been presented as a technology of the future, but their limited dexterity, speed and reliability have made it difficult for them to perform meaningfully useful everyday work.
Tau Robotics says its machines can already carry out a range of household tasks, but admits they are not yet as fast or capable as a human cleaner.
And for now, they are not autonomous.
A trained human operator controls each robot remotely, seeing the home through cameras mounted on the robot as it works.
The use of cameras and other sensors by robots inside private homes has previously raised privacy concerns.
Making machines capable of working independently in messy, unpredictable environments requires large amounts of real-world training data, but gathering that data inside people’s homes inevitably raises questions about privacy.
According to Tau Robotics’ privacy policy, cleaning sessions are continuously recorded through cameras on the robot’s head and wrists, while depth data records the layout of rooms and objects.
The document says the footage and other robot data are used to train its AI models and kept indefinitely unless customers request deletion, while microphones are disabled and no audio is recorded.
However, the company says it does not sell customers’ personal information or use the footage for behavioural advertising.
Tau Robotics says its long-term goal is to gradually increase the robots’ autonomy as they learn from real-world cleaning jobs.
The company also plans to pursue tasks ranging from home repair and maintenance to elderly care.
Video editor • Roselyne Min