"I Hired a $30-Per-Hour Robot to Clean My House... Slow, but Satisfying"

Tau Robotics, a US Startup

Housecleaning Performed via Remote Operator Control

A video was released in the United States showing a humanoid robot being hired to do housework for $30 per hour (approximately 41,400 won).

Humanoid robot cleaning the inside of a refrigerator. Tau Robotics

On August 25 (local time), People magazine and other foreign media reported that Gianna Cappezzio, who lives in San Francisco, USA, had her apartment cleaned by a humanoid robot from Tau Robotics, a company known for its robot 'Gigaek,' on August 21. In the video released by Cappezzio, the robot is seen using a vacuum cleaner to clean the floor, wiping down the kitchen countertop, making the bed, and even cleaning the bathroom.

However, the robot did not perform all the tasks on its own; a worker from Tau Robotics operated it remotely. After using the robot service, Cappezzio said, "It would have been faster if a person had done it, but it still did a pretty good job," adding that no further cleaning was needed after the robot's service.

A robot from Taur Robotics is cleaning the house. Taur Robotics homepage.

However, some viewers who watched the video criticized the robot for not cleaning thoroughly and for being slow. Others responded negatively, saying, "Robots need to disappear. What humans need are jobs, not robots," and "It's great that robots are being supported by money earned by humans."

Tau Robotics, a U.S. startup, is currently in the early operational stage of its humanoid robot cleaning system. The service is available only to invited users, and only one humanoid robot is dispatched at a time. The company plans to provide 1,000 cleaning services per week in San Francisco by 2027, and to expand its business to other U.S. cities and overseas by 2028.

The company plans to further expand the service after improving safety and operational performance, with the ultimate goal of developing a completely autonomous humanoid service that does not require any human operator intervention.

A robot from Tau Robotics is cleaning. Tau Robotics homepage.

Alexander Kopf, co-founder and CEO of Tau, told CBS News, "At first, they will be trained to mimic human behavior, and then they will be trained to surpass it."

Currently, Tau's humanoid robot is equipped with two cameras that act as eyes and record video. The recordings are used to train the company's artificial intelligence (AI) and improve its technical capabilities. However, there have been concerns that these cameras may capture personal belongings such as bills containing private information. Tau emphasized that there are no security concerns in this regard.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.