PUDU ET1: the scrubber robot for small spaces
Convenience stores, restaurants, pharmacies, hotels, offices: the autonomous scrubber-dryer that gets through where others cannot, installed and maintained by Easy to Clean. Our ET1 launch article covers what came out of the first demonstrations.
Distributed by Easy to Clean, an authorised PUDU distributor: demonstration on your floors, all-inclusive rental or purchase with maintenance. Availability and demonstration date confirmed case by case.
What it brings to your floors
Sweeps, vacuums, scrubs and dust-mops in a single pass
Sweeping happens at the front, scrubbing at the rear. Dry debris and wet soiling are dealt with in the same movement, and the dirty water is recovered straight away: the floor can be walked on almost immediately, which matters when the shop stays open. The ET1 is distributed by Easy to Clean, an authorised Pudu distributor.
- Roller up to 800 rpm
- 20 kPa suction
It gets through where other robots cannot
Fifty centimetres wide, sixty high: that is the stated minimum passage. Between two shelving runs, in a stockroom, under a table or a low display, the ET1 goes where a broom used to be the only option.
- 500 × 380 × 580 mm
- Around 45 kg
It lifts grease, not just dust
The station fills the robot with water at 85 °C and on-board heating keeps it hot throughout the cycle. On greasy kitchen areas, shoe marks in an entrance or sticky residue in a drinks aisle, the roller scrubs hard and the temperature does the rest.
- 80 mm roller, up to 800 rpm
- 5,000 Pa of downward pressure
The floor is dry behind it
The squeegee picks up the dirty water as it goes and suction draws it into the tank. No puddles, no streaks: the floor can be walked on almost at once, which reduces slip risk and protects delicate surfaces such as hardwood and marble.
- 20 kPa suction
- Squeegee rinsed continuously
It cleans right up to the skirting
Its side brush pulls debris lodged along walls, shelving and display bases towards the sweeping module. The edges, often redone by hand behind a machine, are dealt with in the same pass.
- Side brush
- 39 cm sweeping, 30 cm scrubbing
It reads the ground before acting
The manufacturer's AI Magic Cleaning system: perception, stain and surface recognition, adaptive cleaning.
It adapts its action to what it meets
As it approaches a rug, it lifts its scrubbing roller so as not to soak it. Rug-edge detection combines physical sensors and vision. On a stubborn stain it slows down, speeds up the roller and increases the water flow, then resumes its pace.
- Surface recognition
- Adaptive scrubbing on stains
Faced with a spill, it lifts its brushes
A spilled liquid must not be spread down the whole aisle. The ET1 detects it and lifts its sweeping brush and side brush to pass over it without dispersing it: a local incident stays local.
- Liquid detection
- Brushes lifted automatically
It knows what it is steering around
It does not treat every obstacle the same way. On an absorbent entrance mat, it sweeps and vacuums without washing. Near a power cord or a packing strap, it keeps its distance so as not to get caught. Around a display or table base, it goes as close as it can so nothing is left behind.
- LiDAR, 3D camera, depth cameras
- Crosses 20 mm obstacles and 30 mm gaps
It maps as it cleans
No prior survey, no lengthy setup: once switched on, it builds its map while cleaning. For you, that means a demonstration that starts with actual cleaning, on your own floors. Fine-tuning, no-go zones, schedules and programmes, is then done with our team.
- Automatic mapping
- Cleaning heatmaps
Almost nothing left to your team
What makes the ET1 workable in a shop or a restaurant: no daily task falls to your staff.
Nobody has to empty or refill it
Back at its station, it recharges, refills with clean water, drains its waste water, doses its detergent, rinses its roller and squeegee, spins them dry and brings the water back up to temperature. Dust from the on-board box is transferred automatically: the manufacturer states emptying about once a week.
- 8 L clean / 7.2 L recovery
- 2.5 L dust box
It does not drag dirt around
The roller is rinsed continuously while it works and the dirty water is recovered straight away, so it never goes back onto the clean area. At the station, roller and squeegee are rinsed and spun dry at the end of each cycle, which limits odours and build-up.
- Continuous rinsing
- Spin-drying at the station
Everything comes apart in thirty seconds
Clean and waste water tanks, dust box, roller, sweeping brush, squeegee and debris bin come out in about thirty seconds according to the manufacturer, and can be washed. That avoids the hidden build-up of closed machines. With our service, this periodic maintenance is carried out by the person who installed the robot on your site.
- Washable modules
- Quick battery swap
Three operational questions
It takes the lift
The manufacturer states lift integration: the robot calls the car and works across several floors, hotel corridors, office floors, common areas. Feasibility depends on your lift and is checked with your lift contractor before deployment.
It works during opening hours
Under 65 dB(A) stated, a body 38 cm wide, and it steers around people: it can move around during opening hours. Time slots are set with you according to actual footfall.
Three ways to control it
A 7-inch touchscreen on the robot, a mobile app and a management platform on a computer. A manual mode lets you guide it occasionally, and the battery swaps quickly to chain cycles.
Six settings where it belongs
The segments targeted by the manufacturer, and what we see in demonstrations.
Convenience and grocery stores
It gets between shelves with a 50 cm passage, scrubs during opening hours below 65 dB(A) and covers fresh produce, aisles and entrance. The optional screen turns it into an in-store display.
Restaurants and quick service
85 °C water lifts grease, front sweeping picks up napkins, straw wrappers and food scraps, and its 60 cm height lets it clean under tables.
Pharmacies
Small area, narrow aisles, customers all day: daily scrubbing that dries at once, without blocking the counter or wetting the shop floor.
Hotels
Guest corridors, lobbies, breakfast rooms: vacuuming and scrubbing with no module change, roller lifted on carpet, lift integration to work across floors.
Offices and common areas
Lobbies, corridors, cafeterias and building common areas: it changes floors by lift and steers around furniture.
Compact food production areas
Production areas of 500 to 700 m², hygiene airlocks, teams that wash at 80 or 90 °C: the two September demonstrations that chose it came from this setting.
What it changes, and what it does not do
Daily aisle scrubbing leaves the schedule.
- No more daily manual scrubbing of aisles
- No daily refilling or draining
- Time freed goes to finishing, washrooms, restocking
- Maintenance included, by the person who installed it
Worth knowing before the demo.
- Above 800 m² or on open floor plates, the CC1 is more efficient
- 8 L tanks: more trips to the station on a very dirty site
- Carpet: vacuuming only, hot-water extraction stays periodic
- No stairs: it changes floors by lift only
- Maximum gradient and IP rating not yet published
- Corners, low undersides below 60 cm and washrooms stay manual
Full specifications
Manufacturer data (PUDU ET1 brochure), checked on 24 September 2026. Field values are measured on your premises during the demonstration.
Performance
Runtime & power
Navigation & intelligence
Dimensions & options
A 21.5-inch screen, if retail is your business
The ET1 accepts a remotely controlled advertising screen, and its livery can be customised in your brand colours. A machine that travels the aisles all day becomes a mobile communication medium. It is an option: it changes nothing about cleaning performance.
This model, on monthly rental or purchase
All-inclusive monthly rental
One monthly fee. The robot, the docking station, maintenance, parts, consumables, software updates and replacement within 72 h in the event of a breakdown that stops the machine.
- No deposit and no capital tied up
- An operating expense, off balance sheet
- Switch models if your floor areas change
Purchase with maintenance contract
The robot becomes your asset. The accompanying maintenance contract, which is mandatory, covers preventive servicing, wear parts and software updates.
- A fixed asset depreciated over 4 to 5 years
- The equipment is yours to use as you wish
- Quotation issued after the demonstration
The demonstration, set-up, training and maintenance are identical in both cases. Compare the two models criterion by criterion →
Two compact robots, two territories
The ET1 is not a small CC1. It is a machine designed for spaces where the CC1 is already too wide.
Convenience stores, pharmacies, restaurants, small office floors.
- Designed for 100 to 800 m²
- Minimum passage width of 50 cm
- Hot water up to 85 °C
- 8-in-1 docking station
Offices, hotels, larger sales floors.
- 700 to 1,000 m²/h
- 15 L tanks
- Around 5 h of runtime
- Hard floors and carpet
Compare with the other models
| Model | Key specifications | Best suited to | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| PUDU ET1 you are here | 100 to 800 m²50 cm4-in-1 | Convenience stores, Restaurants | |
| PUDU CC1 | 700 to 1,000 m²/h~5 h4-in-1 | Offices, Hotels | See the profile |
| PUDU CC1 Pro | 700 to 1,000 m²/hResult-checking camera4-in-1 | Retail, Hotels | See the profile |
| PUDU SH1 | 27 kg20,000 Pa350 rpm | Restaurants & hospitality, Retail & shops | See the profile |
| PUDU MT1 | 1,800 m²/h70 cm35 L | Manufacturing sites, Logistics & warehouses | See the profile |
| PUDU MT1 Max | 1,800 m²/h70 cm35 L | Manufacturing sites, Logistics & warehouses | See the profile |
| PUDU MT1 Vac | 1,400 m²/h55 cm6 L + 2×7 L | Logistics & warehouses, Manufacturing & production | See the profile |
| PUDU BG1 | 2,000 m²/h75 LSweeps + scrubs | Retail & supermarkets, Logistics & warehouses | See the profile |
| PUDU BG1 Pro | 3D perceptionCar parks7 cm speed bumps | Car parks, Shopping centres | See the profile |
Understanding the PUDU ET1
The ET1 was unveiled on 12 August 2026 (see our launch coverage). It opens the E Series range from Pudu Robotics and answers a specific gap in the market: until now, autonomous floor-scrubbing robots were aimed at large floor areas, and small commercial spaces were left to the broom and the mop. The ET1 is the first machine in this range designed for them.
A question of size, not power
A 400 m² convenience store does not need a 2,000 m²/h scrubber-dryer. It needs a machine that fits between the gondolas, steers around restocking pallets and does not block the aisle while customers are shopping. That is exactly the ET1's specification: a 50 × 38 cm footprint, a stated minimum passage of 50 cm wide and 60 cm high, and around 45 kg.
Its cleaning width follows the same logic: 30 cm for scrubbing, 39 cm for sweeping and vacuuming. These are modest figures, and deliberately so: manoeuvrability takes priority over raw productivity. In a cluttered space, a wide machine loses its advantage by constantly steering around things.
Four uses, one machine
The manufacturer's 4-in-1 covers sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing and dust-mopping. The front of the robot sweeps and vacuums, removing dry debris before it reaches the roller; the rear scrubs and recovers the water. The same 30 cm roller is used for dust-mopping hard floors.
This front-rear layout avoids the classic flaw of small scrubbers: pushing crumbs, wrappers or hair into the dirty water and smearing them. It also explains why the ET1 suits restaurants, where napkins, straw wrappers and food scraps fall to the floor all day.
What the hot water does
This is the model's real distinguishing feature. The station heats the water to up to 85 °C according to the manufacturer, and keeps it at temperature throughout the cycle. On a restaurant floor, an entrance lobby in winter or a drinks aisle, the soiling is not dust: it is grease and sticky residue. The mechanical action of a roller at 800 rpm plays its part; the temperature does the rest.
The roller is rinsed continuously while working, which avoids carrying dirt from one end of the shop to the other. The 20 kPa suction recovers the dirty water straight away, and the floor can be walked on again quickly: in an open shop, a wet floor is a risk, not a detail.
The station does the real operational work
Eight functions: recharging, clean-water filling, waste-water draining, detergent dosing, roller rinsing, squeegee rinsing, wringing and water heating. This is what makes the robot workable in a shop where nobody has time to spare for it. Dust collection is also automated at the end of the cycle: according to the manufacturer, the container only needs emptying about once a week.
One nuance, though: automated maintenance does not mean no maintenance. The ET1 remains a commercial machine. Within our service, this periodic servicing is included in the monthly fee and carried out by the person who installed the robot on your premises.
Points to watch, and how our service covers them
The tanks are small by design: 8 litres of clean water, 7.2 litres of recovery. That is consistent with the target floor area, but it means more frequent returns to the station on heavily soiled sites. The rated runtime, 2.5 to 4 h, depends heavily on the mode selected. And the productivity of 300 to 720 m²/h is a manufacturer's maximum, not a guaranteed area: a cluttered site with many changes of direction will fall short of it.
The manufacturer's brochure released in September 2026 filled in the data sheet: noise level below 65 dB(A), lift integration, crossing of 20 mm obstacles and 30 mm gaps, an 80 mm roller pressed down at 5,000 Pa. Still unpublished to date: maximum gradient, IP rating and the exact service life of consumables. We will add them as soon as they are available. In the meantime, fleet sizing is validated on your actual floors, during the demonstration: that is the only figure that commits you.
The questions we are asked about the ET1
How much floor area can the PUDU ET1 clean?
Does the PUDU ET1 vacuum?
Can it clean with hot water?
Does it really fit into small spaces?
What does it do when it meets carpet?
Does it have to be emptied and refilled by hand?
Can it run during opening hours?
Can it carry advertising?
How does it differ from the PUDU CC1?
What do you provide, and what remains our responsibility?
How much does the PUDU ET1 cost?
Is the PUDU ET1 available in Europe?
Can the PUDU ET1 change floors on its own?
What obstacles can it cross?
Is it easy to maintain?
Is the PUDU ET1 right for your floors?
We work it out together during the free demonstration, with no obligation.
Compare with other models
The compact robots on the market closest in cleaning width, each with its specifications, its operator review and what its manufacturer does not publish.
