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China Launches Human-Robot Cleaning Service for Data Gathering in Embodied AI
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Technology

China Launches Human-Robot Cleaning Service for Data Gathering in Embodied AI

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A new human-robot cleaning service, a collaboration between 58.com and X Square, has launched in Beijing and Shenzhen.
  • The service pairs human cleaners with AI-powered robots to assist with tasks, aiming to reduce the workload for human staff.
  • Companies are using these trials to gather real-world data for embodied AI development, as robots currently lack sufficient real-world datasets compared to language models.

In Beijing, cleaner Lin Meiqiong has found her work eased by a new, unconventional colleague: a wheeled robot equipped with AI and mechanical claws. This human-robot cleaning service, a joint venture between Chinese household help platform 58.com and robotics firm X Square, represents an early step towards integrating robots into manual labor.

It's definitely different. I used to have to do everything myself. It's reduced the workload a bit.

— Lin MeiqiongA Beijing cleaner describes her experience working alongside a new cleaning robot.

The service, which costs 149 yuan ($22) for three hours, is available in Beijing and Shenzhen. The AI-operated Quanta X1 Pro robot, guided by an X Square engineer, uses its cameras to identify areas needing attention. While Lin scrubbed floors, the robot collected rubbish and folded clothes, though its folding process was described as slow and resembling a child's first attempt.

Even though it's not that perfect, there are still parts of it that surprised me.

— Tan PeiA customer shares her thoughts on the performance of the human-robot cleaning service.

Around 200 households have booked the service since its March rollout. Tan Pei, an advertising professional, booked the robot out of curiosity, noting that while not perfect, its performance, particularly in folding trousers, was surprisingly good. Future iterations are expected to respond to voice commands and engage in conversation.

We don't have a robot internet yet. It is much more informative to put the robot out there and study what happens than staying forever in the lab.

— Christoforos MavrogiannisAn expert from the University of Michigan explains the importance of real-world data for robot development.

For companies like X Square, these imperfect real-world trials are crucial for data collection in embodied artificial intelligence. Unlike large language models trained on vast internet data, robots require comparable real-world datasets. "We don't have a robot internet yet," explained Christoforos Mavrogiannis from the University of Michigan. "It is much more informative to put the robot out there and study what happens than staying forever in the lab." X Square engineer Hu Bowen emphasized that sending robots into unfamiliar environments provides valuable data for their development.

That is very challenging, but this unfamiliar data is also very helpful for the robot's growth.

— Hu BowenAn X Square engineer discusses the value of robots operating in unfamiliar environments.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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