There is good news for those who dread cleaning windows. There are robots out there to take on the tedious and sometimes dangerous task, and do a good job of it.
Ask Liang Yu. The 55-year-old resident of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, bought a window-cleaning robot for her 11th-floor apartment. Its performance was so impressive that she bought another one for her mother-in-law.
It was a welcome alternative to a chore she once tackled or paid someone to do. To get started, Liang fills the robot's water inlet with solution, plugs in the power cord and secures the robot's safety tether beside the window. Then she presses a button.
The device, fitted with two discs covered in cleaning pads, clings to the outside of the window and works its way across the glass.
"It's a wonderful invention and checks all my boxes. I can clean the windows whenever I want," said Liang, a businesswoman.
Initially, Liang was hesitant to buy the robot due to safety concerns. However, after watching livestream demonstrations, she paid about 1,200 yuan ($180) in a promotional sale last year and got one for herself.
According to AVC, a home appliances market consultancy, China's window-cleaning robot market expanded from 480 million yuan in 2020 to 1.7 billion yuan in 2025.
Chinese window-cleaning robots are drawing attention abroad as well.
On Amazon.com, a Canadian consumer commented that "I don't take pleasure in cleaning, so I really like this robot as it reduces the amount of effort for me. ... Just plop it on a window as you take care of other cleaning tasks".
At the recent 140th China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, window-cleaning robots made by Chinese companies drew crowds of potential overseas buyers.
One such manufacturer is Shanxi Jiashida Robot Technology. Established in 2012, the company exports its products to 56 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany and Japan, with Europe being its main market.
Feng Fenfen, head of the company's foreign trade department, said that customers at home and abroad want effective cleaning at a good price, while overseas buyers place more emphasis on safety and environmental protection.
The company's product has a dual-disc design, with each disc acting as a suction cup while fitted with a cleaning pad. The discs work alternately, with one holding against the glass while the other moves. Autonomous path-planning technology helps the robot identify edges and adjust its cleaning operation.
Feng said the company has adapted its products for different markets. The suction system is adjusted to deal with extreme cold climates, while in areas prone to sand and grit, a dedicated model is designed to remove these particles prior to washing.
Niu Liqun, chairman of the company, said the company will keep using real scenarios to drive its technology development.
The industry is also moving toward consistent performance benchmarks, with China's first household window-cleaning robots standard set to take effect on Dec 1. It sets unified threshold requirements and criteria.
Chinese manufacturers such as Ecovacs and Dreame Technology are also integrating algorithms into their window-cleaning robots.
Wei Wei, deputy dean of the School of Computer and Information Technology at Shanxi University, said: "With breakthroughs in multimodal perception, intelligent decision-making and large model technologies, window-cleaning robots are evolving from automated devices into intelligent autonomous machines."
For robot users, a chore that once required effort, expense and planning now begins with a button.
