Tau Robotics Opens $30/Hour Humanoid Cleaning Pilot in San Francisco With Teleop Backup

Tau Robotics launched a pilot on Aug 11 letting San Francisco residents hire $50,000 humanoid robots at $30/hour to vacuum, wipe counters, and take out trash, targeting 1,000 households. The bots can't operate independently — CEO Alexander Koch says they can't climb stairs and rely on remote VR-goggled technicians who supervise and intervene. Berkeley roboticist Ken Goldberg cautioned the heavy units could fall or strike people, and estimated a decade before robots reliably handle home cleaning autonomously.