Dubai: In the not-too-distant future, robots may be cleaning your hotel room, lobby and some hard-to-reach corners as the use of "cleaner-bots" makes more practical sense.
Industry experts say that they could become more pervasive by the year 2020 as recent trends show companies, hotel and even mall operators jumping on the automation bandwagon.
Vishal Hegde, a senior executive for Sealed Air Corporation in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, said they have a solution to clean hotel rooms or huge areas using automatons that can do the same — if not better — job than human beings.
“We have seen an increase in demand for automated technology," said Hegde.
"A few years ago, it was hard to convince clients about our automated solutions, whereas now the clients approach us for innovative solutions that are effective and efficient to reduce total operating costs.”
The demand for cleaning equipment and technology is also expected to grow as labour in the cleaning industry accounts to 80 per cent of the cost.
Hospitality remains one of the most important sectors boosting the cleaning industry’s growth, and with hotels increasingly adopting eco-clean policies, the use of green cleaning products and procedures is a trend to watch out for in the region.
And with Dubai and Qatar named as hosts for Expo2020 and FIFA World Cup 2022, respectively, the spike in demand for cleaning services is set to accompany an increase in the number of visitors.
Hospitality industry studies show Dubai will add 100,000 hotel rooms by 2020 while Qatar aims to add 60,000 rooms to fill the demand by 2022.
“Some key trends in the cleaning industry include improved sustainability through the adoption of green solutions that reduce CO2 emissions, and there is an increased demand for a one-stop-shop solution provider for cleaning needs,” said Hegde.
One of the major breakthroughs in this direction was the Hands-Free Cleaning HydroBot, demonstrated during the Middle East Cleaning Technology Week.
The Hydrobot, which is part of Sealed Air’s range of ‘Intellibots’, came equipped with nine sensors enabling 360-degrees field of vision. Equipped with sensors, the units were capable of detecting obstacles, both static and mobile.
Environmental Performance Index
In the Environmental Performance Index 2014, carried out by Yale University, the UAE scored 72.91 on a scale of 100 — a jump from 77 in 2012.
Out of 178 countries, the UAE ranked at 25th place, followed by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, who held the 35th and 42nd positions respectively.
The UAE was also ranked at 65 with a score of 86.47 in air quality, ranked 39 in water and sanitation at 82.41.
