Hangzhou: Robot Cleans, She Helps, Robot 7, Her 3
Welcome back to Learn English with Podcasts! Sarah, quick question — if your coworker did the dirtiest job in the whole building, what would you score them out of ten?欢迎回到 Learn English with Podcasts！Sarah，先问你一个问题——如果同事把全楼最脏的活都包了，你会给他打几分（满分10分）？
Honestly? Eight, maybe nine — if they never complained about it. Why do you ask?说实话？八分，也许九分——如果他们从不抱怨的话。为什么这么问？
Because a cleaner in Hangzhou gave her coworker a 7. And that coworker is a robot.因为杭州一位保洁员给她的搭档打了7分。而这位搭档是个机器人。
Just a 7 for a robot? That is a surprisingly calm score.机器人才7分？这分给得相当淡定。
She gave herself a 3. And she said, "Together we make 10."她给自己打了3分。还说："我们俩加起来正好10分。"
Okay, now I need the whole story. Where is this happening?好吧，现在我得听完整个故事。这事发生在哪？
The Fifth Global Digital Trade Fair in Hangzhou, September 23 to 27. In the AI zone, there is a robot cleaning a public toilet — Star X2 Lite.杭州，第五届全球数字贸易博览会，9月23日到27日。展区里有个机器人在扫公厕——Star X2 Lite。
And the woman standing right next to it, explaining everything to the cameras?那站在它旁边、对着镜头讲解一切的女人呢？
That is Wei Yonghua, 60 years old, a public toilet cleaner in Yuhang, Hangzhou. She is not a presenter — she cleans with the robot every day.那是魏永华，60岁，杭州余杭的公厕保洁员。她不是主持人——她每天和这机器人一起打扫。
Alright, show me what the robot actually does.好吧，让我看看这机器人到底会干什么。
Wei taps her phone once. The robot turns to face the toilet, then flushes, sucks up the water, dries it, and disinfects — all in one go.魏大姐在手机上点一下。机器人转向马桶，然后冲水、吸水、烘干、消杀——一气呵成。
And the stubborn stains that water just cannot wash away?那水冲不掉的顽固污渍呢？
The arm changes its tool head by itself — spray, suck, dry. When it is done, there is almost nothing left in the corner.机械臂会自己换工具头——喷洗、吸污、烘干。干完活，几乎不留死角。
Okay, that is genuinely useful. But she did not learn this job yesterday — how long have they worked together?好吧，这确实有用。但她可不是昨天才上岗的——她们搭档多久了？
Since January. Her robot arrived three months before she did. She calls it "Jiejie" — the name just means clean, clean.从1月开始。机器人比她早到三个月。她管它叫"洁洁"——这名字就是干净、干净的意思。
So how long did it take her to get the hang of it?那她花了多久才摸熟？
Three days. She says the first day she did not really get it. Then she opened the app, tapped a few times, and they could work together.三天。她说第一天还不太适应，后来手机上一弄，就能和它配合着干活了。
So what is the split? Who does what?那分工呢？各干什么？
The robot takes the heavy stuff — the repeated, exhausting jobs, and the dirty spots: spit stains, waste in the squat toilet.机器人包重活——高频重复的累活，还有脏地方：痰渍、蹲坑里的排泄物。
And Wei takes the details — taps, mirrors, walls, doors.魏大姐负责细节——水龙头、镜面、墙面、门板。
Before, cleaning the men's room, the women's room, and the baby room took her three hours. Now it takes an hour and a half.以前男厕、女厕加母婴室全清洁一遍要三个小时，现在一个半小时。
And her back? All that bending used to be the worst part.她的腰呢？以前弯腰才是最要命的部分。
"I do not have to bend over all the time. It saves a lot of trouble." And the small stains — half a minute, and they are gone."我都不用老是弯腰，很省事儿。"还有那些小污渍——半分钟就没了。
So who built this thing?那这是谁造出来的？
A robotics startup in Hangzhou. The co-founder says the team wanted one thing from the start — a robot that does the jobs nobody wants to do.杭州一家机器人公司。联合创始人说，团队从一开始只想做一件事——一台专门干没人愿意干的活的机器人。
And a public toilet is the perfect test, because the people cleaning them are often older, and the work is heavy.而公厕正是理想的场景，因为保洁的往往是年纪偏大的大哥大姐，干的还是重活。
The robot runs on laser radar, AI vision, and 3D depth sensing. But here is my favorite part — the app is all icons.机器人靠激光雷达、AI视觉和3D深度感知。但我最喜欢的一点是——整个App全是图标。
So you do not need to read much to use it.也就是说，不用认多少字就能用。
Their words: if you can understand an icon, you can operate it.他们的原话是：只要能看懂图标，就会操作。
Does it actually sell, or is it just a fair attraction?它真卖得出去吗，还是只是展会上的看点？
This was the company's third year in a row at the fair. First appearance in 2024, then over 300 million yuan in intended orders in 2025.这是公司第三次参加数贸会。2024年首秀，2025年拿下超过3亿元意向订单。
And this year?那今年呢？
Two days in, nearly 1500 intended orders — and most of them came from overseas.开幕两天，将近1500台意向订单——而且主要来自海外。
A robot that cleans toilets, and the demand is from other countries. You would never guess that.一个扫厕所的机器人，订单却主要来自海外。谁能想到呢。
In Hangzhou alone, more than 50 robots are already working in over 20 kinds of places — the airport, highway service areas, parks, office buildings, malls, the metro.光在杭州，就有50多台设备在20多个场景上岗——机场、高速服务区、公园、写字楼、商圈、地铁站。
And every toilet it cleans teaches it something new.它每扫一间厕所，都会学到新东西。
That is what the co-founder says — hundreds of robots in hundreds of toilets means real data, and real data makes the skill list grow.联合创始人就是这么说的——几百台机器人在几百间公厕干活，就能攒下真实数据，技能库也就越来越强。
Meanwhile, Wei became the famous one. She is on the news now.与此同时，出名的反倒是魏大姐。她都上新闻了。
Her sisters back home could not believe it. "You do that job? That kind of work?"老家的姐妹都不敢相信。"你干那个？那埋汰活？"
Her answer: "I want them to see that my work is not dirty. And I am on national TV now — look how well I am doing in Hangzhou."她的回答是："我想让她们看到，我这工作不埋汰。而且我都上央视了，你看我在杭州争不争气？"
Her daughter says she is relieved — mom does not have to work so hard anymore. The grandchildren call on video and ask, "Grandma, show us the robot!"女儿说这下放心了，老妈不用这么累。外孙打视频电话总说："姥姥，快给我看看机器人！"
There is a banner on the toilet wall too, right?公厕墙上还挂着一面锦旗，对吧？
On May Day, she found four phones in one day. The owners got together and sent her the banner.今年"五一"，她一天捡到四部手机。失主们一起把锦旗送了过来。
Now the big question — will the robot take her job?现在是那个大问题——机器人会抢她的饭碗吗？
She was asked that too — the reporter even followed her to the bathroom. Her reply came back as three questions.她也被问过这个问题——记者甚至一路追到厕所。她的回答是三个反问。
Go on, I am ready.说来听听，我准备好了。
"When the pipe is blocked, can the robot fix that? When it runs out of water, does it fill itself? And since a human built it, doesn't someone have to hold a phone and tell it what to do?""厕所堵了，机器人通得了吗？它没水了，能自己加水吗？既然是人造的，总得有人拿手机随时指派它吧？"
She does not know the first thing about technology, and she just named the three things no robot can do.她一点都不懂技术，却说出了机器人目前干不了的三件事。
She gave two words for why her job stays: "human warmth" and "a warm heart."她给了两个词，说明自己的工作为什么不会消失："人气"和"热心"。
A visitor walks in and somebody notices them. A phone left behind gets handed in.游客进来，有人会注意到他。落下手机有人交上去。
And the company's slogan? "We make robots bend down, so people do not have to bend down."那家公司的口号是什么？"我们让机器人弯下腰，是为了不让人弯下腰。"
Someone online finished the thought — when the robot bends down to do the least dignified work, workers finally get to stand up straight.有网友把这句话接完了——当机器人弯腰去干最不体面的活，劳动者才有机会体面地挺直腰板。
Here is my favorite detail of the whole day. This robot has laser radar, AI vision, and 3D depth sensing.整件事里我最喜欢的一个细节。这台机器人有激光雷达、AI视觉和3D深度感知。
And?然后呢？
A mosquito landed on the reporter's face. The robot did not notice. Wei brushed it off and ran to get the mosquito repellent.一只蚊子落在记者脸上。机器人没发现。魏大姐一挥手把它赶开，转身跑去拿风油精。
A 7 for the robot. I am starting to think she was being generous.给机器人7分。我现在觉得她打得挺大方。
And the 3 points are still hers — every single time that robot moves, it is her finger that taps the screen.而那3分还是归她——机器人每动一下，都是她的手指在点屏幕。
Fair enough. Thanks for listening to Learn English with Podcasts — see you next time!很公平。感谢收听 Learn English with Podcasts——下期再见！