Prague is preparing to introduce autonomous street-cleaning robots, with a pilot project set to launch in Karlín later this year.

City officials say the trial will assess whether the technology can support or partially replace traditional cleaning methods, as municipal services face ongoing staffing shortages.

If the trial proves successful, the program could expand beyond Karlín to other parts of the city. Local officials in Prague 8 have already expressed interest in extending the testing area to nearby Libeň.

Prague has struggled for years to recruit enough workers for street maintenance, a challenge that has pushed city authorities to explore automation.

Similar technologies are already in use in cities such as Barcelona and Valencia, where robotic cleaning systems have been gradually integrated into municipal services.

The project is being prepared in cooperation with several public entities, including the Technical Administration of Communications and Prague Services. The latter has experience testing battery-powered equipment such as electric sweepers, robotic lawnmowers and modern waste collection vehicles.

Karlín has already become a testing ground for urban automation. Since late last year, the delivery company foodora has been operating a small fleet of autonomous delivery robots in the district.

These machines travel along sidewalks at speeds of up to six kilometers per hour, using sensors and artificial intelligence to navigate. Each unit is remotely supervised by a human operator to ensure safety.

According to data from Prague 8 authorities, the delivery robots completed around 130 orders during their initial testing phase, with an average delivery time of 14 minutes.

Officials reported no major incidents, with only a few cases requiring human intervention when obstacles could not be safely avoided.

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