Commercial cleaning robots: how to plan a useful site trial

A commercial cleaning robot trial should answer a practical question: can this machine complete an agreed floor-cleaning task, to the required standard, within your working day?

For a facilities manager, retailer or hospitality operator, the useful evidence is the finished floor and the work left for staff. Agree those measures before arranging a demonstration. This guide sets out a trial brief you can use when comparing commercial cleaning robots.

1. Specify the cleaning job and the area

Separate vacuuming, sweeping, dust mopping and wet scrubbing. Write down the floor surfaces, typical debris, cleaning frequency and finish you need. Ask the supplier to confirm that the proposed method, brushes, pads and cleaning products suit those surfaces.

Measure the accessible floor area for the chosen task. A building's total floor area includes places the robot may not reach, such as stairs, crowded rooms and space beneath fixed furniture. Mark excluded areas and record how they will be cleaned.

Choose a manageable first zone with a repeated need. For example, a shop might evaluate its main hard-floor aisles after closing. That is an illustrative trial scope, rather than evidence that a particular robot will suit every shop.

2. Ask what the productivity figure measures

Check whether a quoted square-metres-per-hour figure is theoretical coverage, practical cleaning performance or a result from a specific site. Ask which cleaning mode and conditions produced it.

For example, Gausium's Phantas specifications list theoretical maximum scrubbing or dust-mopping efficiency of 1,188 m²/h and practical cleaning efficiency of 350–700 m²/h. Gausium says actual performance can vary by application. The distinction matters more than the headline: neither number establishes how quickly the robot will finish your building.

For your trial, record accepted clean area and the elapsed time for the whole routine. Include preparation, interruptions, refilling where needed, docking and the end-of-run checks. Keep the machine's operating time separate from staff time so you can see both.

3. Include the dock and the daily care

Ask the supplier to identify the exact robot, accessories and workstation in the proposal. Automatic charging, water handling and component cleaning may depend on different equipment.

PUDU's CC1 product page, for instance, lists sweeping, mopping, scrubbing and vacuuming. Its notes say soft-carpet vacuuming requires a separately purchased assembly, and the workstation series is also purchased separately. A four-function description alone does not establish what a quoted package includes.

Have the supplier show the entire care routine. Who fills or empties tanks, removes debris, checks brushes and squeegees, changes consumables and cleans the machine? What work remains when a dock is fitted? Record how long these tasks take and who will cover them when the usual operator is away.

4. Test the building as it is used

Walk the proposed route with the cleaning team and supplier. Include floor transitions, mats, narrow turns, doors, temporary displays and the intended charging area. Discuss where customers, visitors or staff share the space.

Ask the supplier and your responsible site team to agree suitable operating conditions, supervision, stopping arrangements and recovery procedures before the trial. A navigation demonstration cannot establish that every route or working period is suitable.

Run the agreed task under representative conditions. A freshly cleared area may be useful for commissioning, but you also need to understand what happens during the ordinary cleaning window. Log the reason whenever someone intervenes. A blocked route, an unfinished patch and an operator request are different problems.

5. Agree a simple trial scorecard

Use the same measures for the current routine and the proposed robot-assisted routine. Decide who inspects the result and what counts as acceptable before testing starts.

• Scope: floor type, accessible area, cleaning mode and excluded spaces.
• Quality: agreed inspection points, remaining debris or marks, and areas needing a second pass.
• Completion: whether the agreed task finished within the available cleaning window.
• Human work: preparation, routine care, recovery and manual finishing time.
• Interruptions: number, cause, duration and who resolved each one.
• Consumables: water, cleaning product and replacement items used, where measurable.
• Repeatability: results across several representative runs, including the ordinary team operating the machine.

A successful first run earns another look. Repeated acceptable results, with an understood support routine, provide a stronger basis for a purchase decision. If a trial fails, record whether the issue is the chosen task, site conditions, configuration or the machine itself before considering a change.

6. Compare the complete proposal

Ask for an itemised quote covering the robot, dock, accessories, delivery, mapping, commissioning, training, software charges, consumables and support. Confirm which amounts include VAT and which are recurring. Ask who handles faults in your part of the UK, what response is offered and what happens while the machine is unavailable.

Use measured staff time rather than assuming every operating hour becomes a paid hour saved. Time released can support other cleaning tasks; whether it reduces expenditure depends on your staffing and contracts. Our robot task-cost calculator can help organise the comparison.

Prepare your first enquiry

Bring a simple floor plan, the cleaning method, accessible area, available time window and your trial scorecard. These details give a supplier something concrete to assess.

Explore the Robot Internship Programme for supplier-supported trial planning, or tell Robodromo about your cleaning task. Equipment suitability, trial availability, responsibilities and any charges need agreeing for the individual project.

Manufacturer information checked 30 September 2026. This is Robodromo's trial-planning guidance, not a hands-on product review or a guarantee of performance. Confirm current documentation and the exact supplied configuration with the technical supplier.