Ummm, I’m not too sure how I feel about this. Right now, it totally feels like a novelty. But I know many companies are looking to launch robots with services like this. And I don’t see how the price point will work, especially if this is a human-plus-robot-plus-AI type of setup. While the “human in the loop” is remote, you still have to pay them. Perhaps later, the human will be able to step out of the loop, and the robot can do things autonomously, once it is fully trained on a home or apartment or office.
The video demos do look cute. However, I think I could probably clean the same space in a fraction of the time that a robot could, at least for now. I’d be super curious about the average visit cost and duration. My wife and I clean our own house, and we can do it together in about an hour. And if it passes my wife’s standards, it’s good to go and quite clean. Cleaning is also good exercise.
For those people and families who don’t have the time to do the cleaning themselves, cleaning services are fantastic. While more expensive than DIY cleaning, they are convenient. At this point, robotic cleaners (and I’m not talking about Roombas) seem more like an expensive novelty item.