Robot deployed at Eunos HDB block to sweep, vacuum and scrub floors in trial to improve productivity

The Marine Parade-Braddell Heights Town Council (MPBHTC) is trialling the use of a cleaning robot which can independently call for and take the lift at an HDB block.

It is the first time that such a robot is being tested in a public housing estate, said the town council on Friday (May 22).

Based at the 19-storey Block 37C Eunos Road 2, the automaton is programmed to sweep and mop floors and can also be tasked to scrub lift lobbies.

On a full charge, it can work for three hours, and it takes about 20 minutes to clean one floor and will return to its docking station to recharge when battery runs low.

As it has been integrated with the block's lift system, it can self-activate an available lift to independently travel across different floors.

MP Tin Pei Ling, who is council chair, said on Friday that the robot will support the work of estate cleaners and boost productivity.

"We had explored this idea some time ago, but the solution wasn't as ideal back then especially given the unique, highly built-up environment in a HDB estate," she said.

"As technology (has) advanced, we would now like to pilot the use of these robots on the ground, and...observe how effective this is."

The town council could deploy more cleaning robots in other estates after assessing the performance at the trial and taking into consideration other factors such as block layout and compatibility with lift systems.

@asiaone Almost a year after having a walkover at the general election in 2025, the Marine Parade-Bradell Heights Town Council (MPBHTC) held a press conference on Friday (May 22) where they addressed the progress they had made since, with Chairman Tin Pei Ling stating that they had felt a deep sense of responsibility to not take the trust of their residents for granted. #singapore #sgnews #housing #HDB ♬ original sound - AsiaOne

Improved estate conditions

Also present at the press conference on Friday were Marine Parade-Braddell Heights MPs Seah Kian Peng, Goh Pei Ming and Diana Pang, as well as Mountbatten SMC MP Gho Sze Kee.

They provided updates on the town council's operations and projects a year after a walkover in the GRC in General Election 2025.

"Because of the walkover, we felt a deep sense of responsibility that we must not take the trust of our residents for granted," Tin told reporters.

"We want to make sure that we demonstrate our commitment to our residents who have so wholeheartedly supported us."

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Thanks to a new data-driven performance framework, the town council said it was able to more effectively identify and address key municipal issues such as cleanliness, rodents, pigeons and obstruction and clutter cases.

It received fewer complaints over such issues from October 2025 to March 2026 as compared with the period of April to September 2025.

For example, the number of cleanliness-related feedback has dropped by 10 per cent on average across the town, and rodent-related feedback decreased by 17 per cent.

There was a 16 per cent reduction in pigeon-related feedback and an 11 per cent decrease in obstruction and clutter cases.

Acknowledging that each constituency in the town may have different concerns, Tin said her MacPherson ward as well as the Braddell Heights division recorded more feedback over pests such as rodents.

"In this case, we actively worked with the town council to put in place extra measures, including changing the pest control contractor," she stated, noting an improvement in the situation now.

MPBHTC said it has also completed 57 estate improvement projects across the town, comprising the construction of covered linkways and block repairs and redecoration.

Reporting system for filled bins

To improve cleanliness, the town council has also created a reporting system to address the issue of overflowing bins.

Assistant property manager at MPBHTC Abdul Rauf developed a QR code system that lets members of the public report full trash cans easily.

Once scanned, cleaners will receive an alert to quickly clear the rubbish.

The codes have been pasted on bins in Braddell Heights, Eunos Court and Marine Terrace.

"It may seem like a small change, but making reporting simpler helps us respond faster and keep the estate cleaner for residents," said Abdul Rauf. 

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com