If we had been told 30 years ago that robots would be used to clean cities, nobody would have believed it, there would have been only a moment of hilarity. Today it is no longer a joke, but a reality that is taking hold, such as in Paris, where you can see a robot with bright colors clean the subway tunnels.
Initially tested for a short period of time by the Régie autonome des transports parisiens (RATP) has now become customary for passengers to see operate the small artificial intelligence.

The robot is equipped with sensors and able to see in all directions working for hours without backup, cleaning surfaces of 4000 square meters. According to the transport company, the robot in action consumes 76% less water and cleaning products than a scrubber keeping the same quality.

In order to get a clear picture of the situation, a report has been prepared by Accenture, on the so-called “digital transition”, to understand the effects of this transition on the members of the French Cleaning Federation, half of which are small and medium-sized enterprises. The report showed that these robots are also spreading in smaller activities, although they are not yet in a generalized phase of their life cycle.

The appearance on the market of these small robots took place three years ago and were mainly used for the cleaning of train stations, airports or warehouses. As a result of their spread, they are becoming more and more economical and the recovery of investments would not take long for companies whose cleaning budgets can reach 60% of their expenses for general services.

Robotic developments can be expected to occur in specific areas such as window cleaning, channel cleaning and dealing with hazardous areas such as nuclear power plants.

Accenture’s report also highlights the increased use of connected objects, such as sensors that constantly monitor passenger numbers and indicate whether there are areas to clean or toilet paper and soap dispensers that sound an alarm when they are empty.

The use of robots to clean up these public spaces would enhance the image of a sector in which few young people are involved.