Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 7th May 2026 Issue no. 1209

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Cobotics: the future of cleaning innovation

Take a look around – there’s no doubt you’ll find evidence of automation wherever you’re reading this, at home, in your workplace or on the move. When it comes to the cleaning sector, advances in automated technology are revolutionising cleaning regimes, allowing businesses to finely tune the balance of automated and manual tasks to deliver a more efficient clean in any environment.  

Around the world, the growth of the robotic cleaning market shows little sign of slowing. In fact, it’s predicted to reach $26bn by 2026. Household-name brands have helped boost adoption within the consumer sector, but the commercial cleaning sector remains a significant driver of progress.

As one of the UK’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of cleaning products, Robert Scott has always led with innovation. That’s why it's chosen to launch a dedicated business division specialising in cobotic cleaning solutions.  

To do this the company's partnered with leading expert in advanced cobotic design, Metabots, to become the UK’s primary distributor of its cleaning robots. The flagship product for the new division is the Meta-Scrub 60 – an autonomous floor cleaning robot featuring a range of next-generation technologies.

Where automation and manual cleaning meet 

It’s important to stress that the adoption of automation doesn’t mean a reduction in cleaning teams, increases in job losses or redundancies. The role automation can play is not about replacing people – it’s about providing tools that help them do more in the time they have. 

While automation and cobotic solutions can be used to schedule cleaning regimes and the delivery of simple tasks, they cannot replace critical thought. Therefore, the presence of a human being will always be necessary to deliver higher-value cleaning tasks that require a human touch.  

The sweet spot for automation within the cleaning sector lies in its potential to supercharge efficiency by freeing up time. Cobotic aids that can complete tasks such as vacuuming, window cleaning and floor polishing are designed to work in partnership with humans, giving them capacity to focus on delivering cleaning and maintenance plans, managing teams and completing quality checks. 

How Meta-Scrub 60 can support janitorial teams 

Meta-Scrub 60 is designed for effective, autonomous floor cleaning, creating capacity for  janitorial teams to focus on more complex tasks. Developed with an industry-leading algorithm, the Meta-Scrub 60 delivers close-edge cleaning with gaps of less than 10cm from wall surfaces and a zero-degree turning radius, meaning it can access narrow areas that some other machines can’t reach. It also features 12 sensors to identify, detect and avoid obstacles as small as 5cm high.

In terms of application, it’s ideal for use in large open spaces such as airports, shopping centres, educational settings and stadiums, which can be mapped and operated from its control panel onboard, as well as remotely from a laptop or tablet.

Machine maintenance can be completed by the operator onsite, without the need for specialist tools. Simple tasks such as wiping and inspecting attachments and flushing out the hose are all that’s required outside of services. The integrated charging station also provides a space for the Meta-Scrub 60 to automatically dump wastewater and refill with clean water.  

For businesses looking to implement cobotic systems into their cleaning regimes, Robert Scott can deliver detailed demonstrations and training programmes to help educate staff on how they can incorporate the technology in ways that will supplement and support existing cleaning operatives.

The presence of automation within cleaning protocols is only going to grow and it’s important that businesses take steps to understand how automation can be incorporated into their operating model to maximise their teams’ impact on the ground. Effective use of automation can be a secret weapon, allowing cleaning businesses to do far more. 

Kristal Goodwin is national sales manager for Robert Scott’s new cobotics division. 

For more information or to arrange a demo, please call Kristal on 07967 836529, email [email protected] or visit:

www.metabots.uk | https://www.robert-scott.co.uk/

20th July 2023