Skip to main content

Toilet-scrubbing robot takes over one of the world’s crappiest jobs

[World Robot Summit 2018] Robot cleans toilet autonomously

When it comes to jobs that none of us enjoy, scrubbing the toilet would have to rank pretty highly. So why not hand the job over to robots? That might be exactly what happens if a team of engineers from the University of Koblenz-Landau in Germany has its way. Calling themselves Team Homer, the researchers recently debuted just such a toilet-scrubbing bot at Japan’s World Robot Summit. While their creation still needs work, if perfected it has the makings of a product we’d be more than happy to pay good cash to get our hands on.

Recommended Videos

“We [used] a PAL Robotics TIAGo mobile robotic research platform, which is equipped with an arm to grip or to manipulate the environment, a head that holds a RGB-D camera for the detection of persons, objects or the toilet seat, a microphone for recognizing speech and a mobile base for driving around the apartment,” Raphael Memmesheimer, a Ph.D. student in the active vision group at the University of Koblenz, told Digital Trends.

The team’s robot is capable of approaching a toilet, soaking up liquid on the seat and surrounding floor (you filthy animals!), and picking up small pieces of toilet paper. It finishes off by cleaning the floor.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s not particularly quick in doing this, but perhaps that’s not too necessary unless you’re a hotel owner wanting the robot to clean 30 rooms before it goes on its robo-lunch break. Nonetheless, it’s a neat demo of some technology which might become a ubiquitous part of every home a few decades from now — the same way that the Roomba vacuum cleaner is increasingly standard. Hey, between this and shirt-folding robots, it seems that we really are getting closer to the robot housekeeping dream promised to us by shows like The Jetsons.

Unfortunately, don’t expect to be able to buy a toilet-scrubbing robot from the researchers in the immediate future. “The robots that we program are at a research level,” Memmesheimer continued. “We demonstrate the possibility of solving tasks with the robot.”

However, the group is interested in collaborating with companies which want to develop more affordable robots for carrying out a wide range of tasks. “As of now, robots that have functional robot arms are not affordable for targeting consumer devices,” Memmesheimer said. “First use cases will most probably be in public places like airports or shopping centers. Really functional, affordable service robots [are more likely to be made available to customers] in the more distant future.”

Which, of course, raises the other question: If at some point the machines really do take over, who wants to be the person nominated to tell the robot overlord that we forced his ancestors to scrub toilets for us?

Luke Dormehl
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Humanoid robots to race against humans in first event of its kind
Humanoid robots running alongside humans.

 

There’ll be huffing and puffing, and probably a fair amount of creaking and clattering, too. We’re talking about the first-ever long-distance running race between robots and humans, which is set to take place in Beijing in April.

Read more
The Saros Z70 is the most exciting robot vacuum I’ve ever seen
The Saros Z70 picking up a sock.

Out of all the robot vacuum brands available in 2025, Roborock is probably my favorite. The company has been churning out premium, reliable, and powerful robots for years, with their releases consistently landing on our best robot vacuum and mop roundup. CES 2025 was filled with intriguing smart home reveals, but the Roborock Saros Z70 is by far the coolest upcoming device. Designed with a robotic arm that can pick up small obstacles that get in its way, it’s the most innovative robot vacuum I’ve ever seen -- and I’ve never been more excited to see how it shakes up the industry.

Robot vacuums are intended to be autonomous assistants that roam our homes and keep floors clean with little manual intervention. But far too often, this isn’t the case. Whether it be poor sensors that cause the robot to get stuck, suction power that’s inadequate to pick up troublesome debris, or poor obstacle navigation that causes it to get tangled in your phone’s charging cable, some robots simply aren’t as hands-free as expected.

Read more
The best robot vacuums of CES 2025: Roborock, Dreame, Ecovacs, and more
The Roborock Z70 with its arm extended.

CES is the place to go if you want to see the newest and hottest tech, and each year there seems to be one type of product that really steals the show. At CES 2025, that was robot vacuum cleaners. These little gadgets have been around for years now, but companies like Roborock, Dreame, and Narwhal are leading the charge with innovation and new technologies that make them even more efficient at what they do.

We spent a lot of time speaking with the teams behind these machines and watching them in action for ourselves, and these five robot vacuum cleaners are our top picks of CES 2025. As for hands-on impressions, you'll just have to wait until we have the chance to review some of these cutting-edge cleaners later this year.
Roborock Saros Z70

Read more