Tau Robotics, a San Francisco startup, is sending humanoid robots to clean homes. The robots are not yet autonomous. Human pilots operate them remotely through cameras mounted in the robots' heads and wrists.
The company is collecting data from each cleaning. Tau plans to use that data to train more independent robots. Its cofounder, Cornelia Weinzierl, said the robot can already vacuum and mop without human help. The report does not say how many tasks the robot can do autonomously in general, and it does not give a timeline for full autonomy.
Pricing was $30 for an hourlong cleaning with one robot at the time the reporter booked. The price has since changed to $60 per weekly cleaning with two robots, or $100 for a one-time visit. The reporter said the robots are thorough but slow, so a customer might spend the same time cleaning alone.
In the reporter's experience, the robot struggled with stairs and stalled during its first visit. Weinzierl said the stalls were caused by overheating equipment used by the remote operator, not the robot itself. On a second visit, the robot cleaned the kitchen and cleaned the toilet. It repeatedly reattached a toilet cleaning wand that fell off. It