The robot that cleans toilets so humans don’t have to

When Covid-19 emptied offices and grounded flights in 2020, it also hollowed out Singapore’s cleaning workforce. One of Rishab Patwari’s friends, who runs a cleaning company, suddenly found himself unable to service clients.

“His labor force was made up of two components – foreign workers and the ageing population,” says Patwari, the founder of Hivebotics, a startup building AI-powered autonomous robots to transform facilities management.

Hivebotics’ robot is designed to cut the time that human cleaners spend cleaning toilets by 50%. / Photo credit: Ng Sor Luan, The Straits Times

“The foreign workers went back to their home countries and the ageing population was scared to go to work because this was the time before Covid-19 vaccines became available,” Patwari recalls. “The cleaning companies were under a lot of stress because cleaning was paramount during the pandemic, but they did not have the manpower. That’s when my friend asked me if I could recommend some robots.”

Patwari, then a computer engineering undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS), realized that while floor-cleaning robots were common, their utility was limited. Most were 2D robots, unable to solve 3D problems where an arm and interaction with the environment are necessary.

Designing from the ground up

Patwari discovered a massive gap in commercial cleaning: 60% of cleaning time is spent on just 6% of the floor space – the toilets. It is an essential but physically demanding, repetitive, and often unpleasant task that faces a chronic labor shortage.

To address this problem, Hivebotics developed Abluo – an autonomous toilet-cleaning robot with AI-driven 3D perception. With its robotic arms, Abluo can operate in tight restroom environments to detect, disinfect via steaming, and dry fixtures such as toilets, urinals and sinks without any human intervention.

By targeting this labor-intensive niche, Hivebotics engineered Abluo to ensure consistent cleaning quality in high-traffic facilities. The robot is intended to halve the time that human cleaners typically spend cleaning toilets, allowing them to focus on higher-value maintenance tasks.

To ensure Abluo meets industry standards, Patwari and co-founder Tuan Dung Nguyen worked directly with the world’s largest cleaning companies and got their hands dirty – literally.

Hivebotics co-founders Rishab Patwari (left) and Tuan Dung Nguyen worked as cleaners and used simulated stains to ensure their robot could handle the real-world demands of scrubbing toilets. / Photo credit: Hivebotics

In 2023, they applied for work attachments with cleaning service providers at NUS, malls, and hotels. They spent days cleaning toilets and learning how to mix chemicals for the best results to gain insights to improve Abluo’s capabilities.

The duo even concocted a mixture of miso paste, yeast, and other ingredients to simulate fecal stains for the robot to scrub away.

These efforts have yielded significant results. Following onsite trials in office buildings, shopping malls and airports in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, Hivebotics received over 100 orders within a year of Abluo’s commercial launch in July 2024.

This commercial traction earned Hivebotics the Most Promising Startup Award at the Emerging Enterprise Awards 2025, organized by OCBC Bank and The Business Times.

The seven Emerging Enterprise Awards 2025 winners, honored for their commitment to innovation and sustainability / Photo credit: OCBC

Going beyond cleaning

Patwari says Hivebotics is not just about cleaning toilets.

“Cleaning is just one of the pillars,” he says. “Our vision is to be the autonomous facilities management provider of the world. The toilet-cleaning robot is our first entry point into this bigger vision.”

The company’s five-to-10-year vision involves entire buildings managed by a few people from a remote command center, using an ecosystem of integrated robots.

“We may not be only building our own robots, but we will be collaborating with other robotics companies to integrate with our ecosystem. We can provide building owners with the ability to have robots that can take care of many different functions together,” he explains.

To scale manufacturing and international deployment, Hivebotics has started its series A fundraising cycle, seeking strategic investors and partners to develop the next generation of facilities management.

“If there are fixture makers that produce different types of fixtures in the restroom and they want to develop the new generation of facilities together, they’ll be very synergistic,” Patwari notes.

Recognizing bold ambition

Now in its 19th year, the Emerging Enterprise Awards – a joint initiative by The Business Times and OCBC Bank – continue to champion the innovation, resilience and excellence of businesses under 10 years old. The awards celebrate emerging businesses from across Asia, reflecting a sustained commitment to highlighting entrepreneurial talent far beyond Singapore.

The Emerging Enterprise Sustainability Awards honor enterprises that embrace opportunities in the green economy, whether by embedding sustainable practices in their operations or leveraging technology and innovation to drive the transition to low-carbon economies.

Additionally, the Most Promising Sustainability Startup Awards celebrate businesses with unique, commercially viable ideas and significant long-term potential.

The application for the 2026 Emerging Enterprise Awards is opening soon. Learn more about the submissions here.

This story was republished with permission from The Business Times. It was moderately edited to reflect Tech in Asia’s editorial guidelines.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.