The rise of robot waiter

6. Cleaners

A cleaning robot displays atChina Science and Technology Museumin Beijing onAug 15, 2012. [Photo/CFP]

Cleaning robots like Roomba and Scooba are already famous. Their intelligence in cleaning a certain area and automatically finding the right place to recharge themselves saves humans a great deal of effort.

In China, we hear sad news about street cleaners being hit by cars every year. That wouldn't be a problem if robots replaced these cleaners for their more dangerous jobs. They can be programmed to stay away from a moving car. This is also the case for replacing people for cleaning the outside walls and windows of tall buildings.

A robot designed by Harbin Institute of Technology can climb up to 70 meters within seconds and move horizontally at a speed of 10 meters a minute. It is also capable of moving on curved surfaces and gutters.

By moving up and down at high speed, the robot can replace the workload of at least four human cleaners.