Humanoid robots enter San Francisco homes for cleaning at $30 an hour

A US startup called Tau Robotics has launched an unusual experiment in San Francisco, sending humanoid robots into residents’ apartments to perform household cleaning tasks such as vacuuming, toilet cleaning, and wiping kitchen countertops, for a fee starting at $30 per hour.

The service, which is less than a month old, has already cleaned more than 50 apartments in the city and is seeing growing demand, prompting potential customers to join a waiting list, according to the company.

Customers who tried the robot in their homes for the first time described its occasional stumbles during operation as minor and endearing, likening the experience to watching a small child.

The robots are not yet fully autonomous; they are remotely controlled by trained human operators who view the home through cameras mounted on the robot’s head and wrists, raising privacy concerns.

According to the company’s policy, cleaning sessions are recorded by cameras and stored indefinitely to train AI models, while microphones remain disabled and do not record audio. The company maintains that it does not sell customer data or use it for targeted advertising.

The company plans to gradually increase the robots’ autonomy and expand in the future into home maintenance and elderly care services.