Nine years ago, a friend of mine gifted me a robotic vacuum cleaner (certainly something unusual) when I moved into a new apartment in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

After reading the user's manual carefully, I managed to use the vacuum cleaner, developed by Chinese robotics and technology company Ecovacs, which is based in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

By downloading an app on my iPhone, I often planned the work duration for the cleaner ahead of returning home. It helped a lot in reducing housework by cleaning my house and mopping the floor.

The robotic vacuum cleaner still works despite relentlessly cleaning my house almost every day for the past nine years, although the battery does not support it for as long as before.

Today, using service robots like the vacuum cleaner for helping with housework is not unusual in Chinese households — they are also used in public places such as hotels, parks, hospitals, train stations and airports.

After years of development, the influence of service robots has gone far beyond the Chinese market.

They have, in fact, taken center stage at the China Import and Export Fair, popularly known as the Canton Fair, which kicked off its 138th edition in Guangzhou on Oct 15.

Transactions in the service robotics industry have exceeded expectations since April after a dedicated service robotics zone was established for the first time during the fair's 137th session, with 46 Chinese robotics companies demonstrating prowess in the sector, the fair's organizers said.

To help more Chinese companies expand their businesses overseas, the organizers have again established a service robotics zone, where more industry-leading companies are showcasing intelligent products such as embodied robots and robotic dogs.

In the fair's first phase, which focused on displaying China's advanced and intelligent manufacturing, I once again met with the sales managers of Keenon Robotics, a Shanghai-based technology company.

"After displaying our products and services in the fair's previous session, we have received international orders from buyers, mainly in the United States, Turkiye and Europe," said Zhou Quan, marketing manager of Keenon Robotics.

Since the fair's previous session, Keenon Robotics has made a strong start in the overseas market, successfully securing orders worth nearly 1 million yuan ($140,605), according to Zhou.

"Overseas partners are currently conducting tests of our products, which will help lay a solid foundation for subsequent large-scale market expansion," Zhou said.

Additionally, potential customers are also closely following up on the company's latest products, according to Zhou.

"The fair is undoubtedly a core bridge for us to connect with the global market, and its efficient platform has greatly facilitated the conversion of our overseas business, yielding significant results," he said.

During the fair's 138th session, the company made a grand appearance with its lineup of general-purpose and specialized service robots, including the bipedal humanoid embodied service robot XMAN-F1, the high-end delivery robot T10, the narrow-path delivery robot T11 and cleaning robots C55 and C40.

The service robots are widely used in hotels, airports, hospitals, and warehousing and logistics companies, Zhou said.

The company looks forward to showcasing its technological depth and innovative capabilities to global customers through the series of comprehensive intelligent solutions that combine specialized and general-purpose applications, he said.

"We have high expectations for international orders during the fair, partnering with more international collaborators to jointly usher in a new chapter of intelligent global business services, as there is great demand for service robots in the international market," he said.

According to an analysis by research firm Precedence Research, the global market size for service robots reached $54.5 billion in 2024, with an expected average annual growth rate of 15 percent over the next decade.

I asked Zhou if the company's new edition of robotic vacuum cleaners could help with housework at my apartment. "It can be used in every household," he said.

I had actually planned to buy a new one, as such robotic cleaners now have more functions, including the planning of cleaning routes, avoiding collisions with objects on the ground and automatically returning to the base station for battery charges. I must say that these new functions have impressed me quite a lot.