CLEANING robots can do more than just scrub floors — they now can automate the cleaning process and adapt to different surfaces.

Dozens of intelligent cleaning robots were gathered at the First Shenzhen (International) Intelligent Sanitation Cleaning Robot Competition at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center on Monday, to showcase skills such as wading through water, climbing slopes, automatically recognizing garbage, and avoiding obstacles.

The competition attracted a total of 16 enterprises to participate, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

Multiple “examination points” were established to test the robots’ abilities, including identifying low obstacles, avoiding bicycles, and cleaning edges. These abilities were tested in simulated venues like parks, squares, and pedestrian, non-motorized, and auxiliary lanes.

“We have five unmanned sanitation robots taking part in the competition,” Chen Gong, deputy general manager of Shenzhen Yunjie Technology Co. Ltd., told the Daily.

Chen said the competing robots are brand-new second-generation models developed by the company and have new functions such as automatic garbage packaging and water spraying.

Shenzhen’s urban management authority has actively promoted the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and urban management, creating over 50 application scenarios for AI-enabled cleaning robots and putting more than 150 these robots into use across the city, the Daily reported.

“AI-enabled cleaning robots are part of an emerging field that is yet to become fully fledged. This competition is a good start,” Wang Danwei, a fellow of the Academy of Engineering Singapore, was quoted as saying.

According to Wang, Shenzhen has seen the trend of AI-enabled cleaning robots coming. He hopes that there will be a set of standards to promote uniform development of the industry in the future.

According to statistics, there are over 30 domestic enterprises engaged in the research and production of AI-enabled cleaning robots, among which 20 have mature products. Shenzhen is home to 14 such enterprises that account for about one-third of the country’s total.

At a cooperation signing ceremony during the competition, four out-of-town AI companies that make cleaning robots decided to settle in Shenzhen. (Zhang Yu)