China introduces home cleaning service combining humans and robots
Guangzhou (ANTARA) - At first glance, it appears to be routine cleaning work. However, a wheeled robot then moves alongside a cleaning worker, Lei Xiaoli (43), and extends its mechanical arm to gather scattered rubbish.
For Lei, this is not a matter of job replacement, but the beginning of a new work partnership. She is learning to share tasks with a machine designed to navigate clutter and unexpected conditions in real homes.
The robot, mounted on a wheeled base and equipped with two mechanical arms, is part of a home cleaning service launched in March by Shenzhen-based startup X Square Robot, in partnership with household services platform 58.com.
At a rate of 149 yuan (1 yuan = Rp2,536) for a three-hour session, the service divides tasks between humans and machines. The robot handles basic household chores such as picking up rubbish, tidying shoes and toys, and changing bin bags, while cleaning workers focus on more detailed tasks in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom areas, as well as interacting with clients.
“When I first saw it, I felt very curious and kept observing how it worked,” Lei said. After more than 20 sessions working together, Lei stated that she has grown accustomed to the collaboration, and the robot has become increasingly proficient.
“The robot can identify areas that need cleaning on its own, which reduces my workload,” she said.
Several early customers in Shenzhen quickly tried the new service.
One customer, Ge Landong (a pseudonym), deliberately scattered household rubbish in his living room to test the robot’s capabilities.
“Whether it’s banana peels or small chicken bones, the robot can recognise them accurately, pick them up, and dispose of them in the bin,” he said. “Its perception and precision exceeded my expectations.”
Nevertheless, there are still some limitations. Ge noted that the robot’s size is relatively large, so it cannot reach narrow spaces, and it can only handle simple tasks, meaning human cleaners still need to follow up. An engineer is also present during service visits to ensure everything runs smoothly.
X Square Robot acknowledged these limitations in a social media post on 15 April, stating that the robot currently moves more slowly than humans and still requires improvements in adapting to complex home environments.
The company said it has also launched the service in Beijing on 21 April and plans to expand to more cities, targeting the deployment of 1,000 units by 2026.
The trial demonstrates an ongoing quiet evolution: in the era of embodied artificial intelligence (AI), robots are not just demonstrating capabilities but beginning to learn to work in everyday life scenarios.
“Home environments are far more complex and dynamic than factories. In a sense, homes are the best testing ground for robots,” said Liu Shaoshan, an expert in embodied AI at the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society.
Liu said China has advantages in hardware supply chains, rapid product iteration, and diverse real-world application scenarios, factors that allow companies to refine their systems more quickly through real-world feedback.
In addition to household cleaning, robots can play a role in elderly care, providing companionship and daily support in a sector long hampered by labour shortages, he said.
Positioned as a future industry in China’s latest five-year plan, embodied AI is expected to receive a new growth boost.
According to a Morgan Stanley report, China’s robotics market is projected to grow from $47 billion (1 US dollar = Rp17,324) in 2024 to $108 billion in 2028, with service robots recording a compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent.
Across China, provincial-level regions are increasingly striving to develop this sector. In Guangdong Province, service robot output rose 11.2 per cent in 2025, accounting for about 80 per cent of the national total. In Beijing, production surged 47.6 per cent year-on-year, reflecting strong momentum in the sector.
Industry players note that as robots take over more routine tasks, the remaining aspects for humans, such as judgement, adaptability, and interaction, may become more central to the nature of work.
How this balance evolves will not only shape the future of cleaning jobs but also the way humans and machines coexist in daily life.
For Lei, the changes are already having a real-world impact.
“I hope the robot can learn to clean windows or carry heavy items,” she said. “That would reduce our physical burden and safety risks.”
She is not worried about being replaced. “There will always be things I can do better, at least for now.”