Window-cleaning robots gain ground in China and overseas

A button replaces a risky household chore

Liang Yu, a 55-year-old resident of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, bought a window-cleaning robot for her 11th-floor apartment and later bought another for her mother-in-law. The device offered an alternative to cleaning the windows herself or paying someone else to do it.

To use it, Liang fills the robot's water inlet with cleaning solution, connects the power cord and secures a safety tether beside the window. After she presses a button, the robot attaches itself to the outside of the glass and moves across the surface using two discs covered in cleaning pads.

Liang initially worried about safety, but bought the robot for about 1,200 yuan ($180) in a promotional sale last year after watching livestream demonstrations. "It's a wonderful invention and checks all my boxes. I can clean the windows whenever I want," she said, according to China Daily.

Chinese makers target overseas demand

Chinese window-cleaning robots are also attracting attention outside the country. A Canadian consumer on Amazon.com wrote that the device reduces the effort involved in cleaning and can be placed on a window while other household tasks are underway.

At the recent 140th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, robots made by Chinese companies drew potential overseas buyers. Shanxi Jiashida Robot Technology, established in 2012, exports its products to 56 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany and Japan. Europe is its main market.

Feng Fenfen, the company's head of foreign trade, said buyers want effective cleaning at a good price. Overseas customers, she said, place more emphasis on safety and environmental protection. The company adapts its products for different conditions, adjusting suction systems for extreme cold and developing a model for areas with sand and grit that removes those particles before washing.

Safety and autonomy shape the next stage

Jiashida's robots use a dual-disc design. Each disc works as a suction cup while carrying a cleaning pad, with one disc holding against the glass while the other moves. Autonomous path-planning technology helps the robot identify edges and adjust its cleaning operation.

The industry is also moving toward common performance requirements. China's first household window-cleaning robot standard is scheduled to take effect on Dec 1, setting unified threshold requirements and criteria.

Chinese manufacturers including Ecovacs and Dreame Technology are adding algorithms to their robots. Wei Wei, deputy dean of the School of Computer and Information Technology at Shanxi University, said breakthroughs in multimodal perception, intelligent decision-making and large model technologies are moving the products from automated devices toward intelligent autonomous machines.

For users, the development could make window cleaning easier to schedule and less dependent on physical effort, while the emerging standard and manufacturers' focus on safety address concerns that may influence adoption.