When the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the world in 2020, few sectors changed as visibly as cleaning and disinfection. Overnight, hygiene became a matter of public infrastructure rather than private preference.
The sight of robots quietly gliding through airports, malls and hospitals, emitting UV light or spraying disinfectant, once a novelty, became a symbol of safety and reassurance.
Five years on, these machines are no longer temporary solutions. Cleaning and sanitation robots have evolved from emergency measures to permanent fixtures in the global automation landscape – part of a new baseline for public hygiene and operational efficiency.
From crisis response to long-term transformation
The first wave of cleaning robots was driven by fear and necessity. Airports deployed UV disinfection units to reassure travellers.
Hospitals experimented with autonomous sterilisation devices to reduce viral load in high-risk areas. Offices and public transport operators used robotic floor cleaners to compensate for staff shortages and meet new sanitation standards.
Now, the trend has settled into permanence. Market analysts estimate the global cleaning robot sector will exceed $15 billion by 2030, with growth concentrated in Asia and the United States.
Facility management companies increasingly include autonomous cleaning in tenders and long-term service contracts.
Hygiene, once treated as background maintenance, has become a visible benchmark of technological competence.
The technology behind autonomous cleanliness
Today’s cleaning robots combine several mature technologies – mapping, vision, AI, and materials science – into one cohesive system.
- Navigation and mapping: Using lidar, cameras and ultrasonic sensors, modern machines map complex environments in real time, identifying obstacles and adapting to human movement.
- Disinfection tools: UV-C lamps neutralise pathogens without chemicals, while electrostatic sprayers and misting units ensure uniform surface coverage.
- Precision cleaning: Robotic scrubbers measure water use and detergent dosage, optimising both efficiency and sustainability.
- Data and analytics: Many systems now collect operational data — area cleaned per shift, consumable usage, and maintenance intervals – feeding into facility dashboards for performance tracking.
Next-generation models are adding air purification and particulate sensing, moving beyond surface hygiene to environmental health monitoring.
The new hygiene industry: Leading companies
A decade ago, only a handful of robotics start-ups explored this space. Now, it is a competitive global industry spanning consumer, commercial, and industrial sectors.
- SoftBank Robotics helped popularise the concept with Whiz, a compact AI-powered vacuum used in airports and offices worldwide.
- Gaussian Robotics and its Singapore-based partner LionsBot have deployed fleets across Asia, offering heavy-duty scrubbers for malls and metro systems.
- Avidbots, founded in Canada, provides the Neo 2 autonomous floor scrubber, which operates in warehouses, airports, and universities.
- Navia Robotics focuses on hospitality environments, integrating cleaning and delivery robots within a single ecosystem.
- In healthcare, Xenex, UVD Robots, and Akara Robotics have refined UV-based sterilisation systems that can disinfect hospital rooms in minutes.
- Electronics giants LG and Hyundai Robotics are also expanding into the sector, combining cleaning automation with service robotics for hotels and transport hubs.
- Loop Robots – its SAM autonomous UV-C disinfection robot is designed for hospitals, hospital pharmacies and GMP cleanrooms, delivering digitally auditable disinfection, reduced chemical use and mapping-based navigation.
Together, these firms represent a shift from one-off deployments to large-scale operational fleets. Municipal authorities in Seoul, Singapore, and Dubai now treat cleaning robots as infrastructure assets rather than gadgets.
Economic and regulatory dynamics
The business case is straightforward. Cleaning and sanitation are labour-intensive, repetitive, and often occur during off-hours – precisely the conditions where automation excels. Persistent labour shortages in janitorial services have accelerated adoption.
For operators, robots deliver measurable ROI through consistency, lower chemical use, and data-driven resource planning.
For regulators, they ensure compliance with hygiene standards in transport, healthcare, and hospitality sectors.
In some regions, insurance and certification bodies have begun referencing robotic disinfection in their risk-mitigation frameworks.
Investment interest is growing accordingly. Venture funds are backing companies that combine cleaning robotics with AI fleet-management platforms.
SoftBank’s collaboration with Gaussian, for instance, hints at an emerging ecosystem where cleaning, delivery, and security robots share mapping data and operational control systems.
Human factors: Redefining janitorial work
Despite automation, people remain part of the equation. Robots do not replace every task; they augment human teams by covering large or repetitive areas.
Workers increasingly take on supervisory and maintenance roles – monitoring robot performance, refilling consumables, and interpreting analytics.
This shift demands retraining but also improves working conditions. Tasks that once required manual scrubbing now involve managing a fleet from a touchscreen. For facility contractors, it means moving up the value chain into data services and robotics management.
Public perception has also evolved. Early deployments drew curiosity and occasional apprehension. Now, the quiet hum of an autonomous cleaner in an airport terminal is background noise – a sign that a facility is keeping pace with modern expectations.
Technical and operational limits
The field is not without challenges.
- Power and endurance: Most systems run for three to six hours per charge, requiring swap-out batteries or docking stations for continuous operation.
- Water and chemical logistics: Even the most efficient models must manage consumables and waste collection.
- Mixed environments: Navigating around unpredictable human traffic, furniture, and wet surfaces remains a complex problem for AI.
- Integration: Many facility management systems still rely on legacy software, slowing adoption of centralised robotic control.
Manufacturers are addressing these issues through modular battery packs, lightweight designs, and shared mapping standards that let multiple robots coordinate in real time.
The future: Hygiene as infrastructure
The next stage of evolution is integration. Cleaning and sanitation robots are being linked to building-management and IoT platforms, enabling predictive cleaning based on occupancy and sensor data.
Airports and office complexes are experimenting with coordinated fleets – robots that automatically adjust their schedules when foot traffic spikes or when air-quality sensors detect contamination.
Looking further ahead, hybrid service robots could combine cleaning with delivery or inspection roles, forming part of an intelligent maintenance network.
The ultimate goal is not simply cleaner floors, but self-maintaining environments – buildings that monitor, clean, and disinfect themselves autonomously.
Safe and clean
In the coming decade, the presence of cleaning and sanitation robots will fade from novelty to normality. They will glide through terminals, offices, and hospitals after hours – unseen, efficient, and indispensable.
The post-pandemic world has redefined hygiene as both a health measure and a technological benchmark. Automation now underpins that standard.
These robots are the new custodians of public trust – the silent workforce ensuring that our shared spaces remain safe, clean, and ready for human life to resume each morning.
Main image: Hospital robot by Loop Robotics
