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Singapore unveils army of multilingual cleaning robots in bid to spruce up city

  • The machines, produced by local company LionsBot, can speak English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, as well as Japanese and ‘Singlish’
  • They can be rented for about US$1,000 a month and it is hoped that 300 of them will be put into service by March next year

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Autonomous cleaning robots move on a platform during their launch in Singapore. Photo: AFP
Hundreds of “friendly” robots that speak multiple languages and sing are being rolled out across hi-tech Singapore, to help clean the city state’s hotels, shopping malls and government buildings.
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The robots on show during a launch on July 17. Photo: AFP
The robots on show during a launch on July 17. Photo: AFP

They scrub, mop, vacuum and sweep autonomously, and can entertain by rapping in English.

The robots speak all four of multi-ethnic Singapore’s official languages – English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil – plus Japanese and “Singlish”, a local patois that mixes English with words from the myriad local tongues.

“I’m the coolest thing in town, I’ll make your world light up, hey you’re never gonna frown,” rapped one of the robots as they were unveiled on Wednesday.

The devices, which come in 13 different models and are produced by local company LionsBot, also tell jokes or ask humans to move aside if they are in the way.

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