On a quiet Friday morning at the newly opened Connect Hyundai store in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, a new intern clocked in for work. Standing just 70 centimeters tall and weighing 80 kilograms, the newest team member did not say a word. But with broom in hand - or rather, in frame - it set off on its first assignment: keeping the store spotless.

This is Wheelie J40, an artificial intelligence-powered cleaning robot and perhaps the first in South Korea to be formally hired as a company employee.

More than a novelty, Wheelie is fully integrated into Connect Hyundai’s personnel system and is listed under the job title of cleaning staff. Assigned to the mall’s main pathways on the first and third floors, the robot moves through the mall silently as it scans for dirt, spills, and smudges. What sets it apart is its ability to autonomously assess floor conditions and adjust its cleaning patterns in real time thanks to high-sensitivity sensors and advanced machine learning algorithms.

But it does not stop at detection. Wheelie handles the entire cleaning process independently - refilling and draining water, washing and drying mops, and even taking care of itself with routine maintenance.

During its one-month internship, Wheelie will undergo daily performance evaluations. Ten quantitative metrics, including cleaning coverage, hygiene maintenance, and task accuracy, are reviewed to determine if it qualifies for full-time employment. Though the robot will not receive a salary during the trial period, a monthly wage will be paid (to its manufacturer) if it makes the cut as a full-time employee.

Rather than replacing human cleaners, Wheelie is part of a new operational model built on collaboration. While the robot handles broad, repetitive tasks across large areas, human staff focus on high-traffic and sensitive zones such as restrooms, staircases, and information desks where precision and customer interaction are key. It redefines the traditional labor-based operating model as it allows humans and robots to collaborate by leveraging their respective strengths, and it is a structure that enhances work efficiency and cleaning quality simultaneously.

“Robots like Wheelie take on repetitive and physically taxing duties,” a spokesperson from RhinOS Inc., the developer behind the device, said, adding that “this allows human workers to concentrate on nuanced cleaning and direct customer service. It is a new operational model where AI truly becomes part of the organization, not just a tool.”

Wheelie was previously evaluated while working at Lake Como, a complex shopping mall located in Dongtan in Gyeonggi province’s Hwaseong. Working an average of 7 hours daily, the cleanliness maintenance rate improved by 27% and customer complaints related to cleaning decreased by 53%.

[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단 전재, 재배포 및 AI학습 이용 금지]