According to a report by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, U.S. properties are still 200,000 employees short of pre-pandemic levels—the majority of them in housekeeping. Developed by the Chinese startup Zerith Robotics, the H1 embodies a pragmatic approach to a hotel industry still reeling from the Covid-19 crisis and facing persistent staff shortages.
A mechanical right arm for housekeeping
Equipped with multidirectional wheels, a height-adjustable torso, and articulated arms with seven degrees of freedom, the robot moves with astonishing agility through narrow hallways and crowded rooms. Its battery provides four hours of autonomy. A video published by the company shows the H1 throwing towels into a laundry basket, restocking a sink with soap... it even knows how to pour water into a vase!
Unlike other domestic robots like Tesla's Optimus, the Zerith H1 is aimed solely at professional uses, particularly the hotel industry. And for good reason: hotel rooms feature standardized environments, rich in reusable data. Perfect for refining AI algorithms before a foray into the domestic market: your home, so to speak.
Founded in China earlier this year, Zerith Robotics was incubated by Tsinghua University and the Jianghuai Advanced Technology Center. The team brings together engineers who have worked at Baidu, ByteDance, iFLYTEK, and Midea. In February, the startup raised tens of millions of yuan and recorded its first orders. It hopes to produce more than 500 units this year, with potential applications in the hotel industry, as well as in education, events, and services.
"We chose the hotel industry because our long-term goal is the home," said founder Min Yuheng, who sees the hotel model as an ideal test. While the vision is clear, the price remains a barrier for the general public: with a price tag of around $13,700, the H1 remains out of reach for individuals for the time being.
On the hotel side, a few American establishments are already experimenting with delivery or baggage robots. But the memory of the failure of the first "100% robotic hotel" in Japan—which had to "lay off" half of its machines due to a series of bugs—encourages caution. Zerith, for its part, assures that it does not want to replace human staff, but to offer a reliable and tireless assistant for repetitive and thankless tasks.
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