BY 2030, homes may become fully integrated environments where robots are embedded into living spaces.
That is the vision behind AI Living at i-City, a Malaysian development working with global robotics firm Agibot.
The project is positioned as the world’s first platform where AI-powered robots move into everyday residential life.
While industrial robots are already a US$40bil (RM158.6bil) global market, Agibot and i-City believe the next frontier – the home – could be up to 10 times greater.
But getting there means solving problems such as unpredictable layouts, affordability and child safety. i-City’s AI Living concept is designed to crack that code, Agibot said in a statement.
“What makes AI Living interesting is that it couples robotics directly with smart home infrastructure, the user’s lifestyle and the entire residential space – not as an afterthought, but as a foundational element,” said Agibot chief operating officer (COO) Lv Suhe.
i-City is positioning itself not just as a digital urban centre but as a living lab that could export an AI-living blueprint to other Asean markets, the statement said.
Unlike traditional develop-ments where technology is added later, the AI Living approach integrates robotics at the design stage, enabling compatibility, service delivery, and future upgrades to be built into the ecosystem from the beginning.
Lv said robotics was moving beyond factories into everyday life, and real-world environments like i-City are critical to making that transition possible.
For decades, robotics has been closely associated with industrial automation, where machines operate in structured environments performing repetitive, well-defined tasks.
But as technology advances, the industry is shifting towards more dynamic environments, where robots must interact with people, adapt to changing conditions and deliver practical value in daily life.
Agibot described this transition as a move from “automation” to “intelligence”, where robots were not merely programmed to execute tasks, but were increasingly expected to understand outcomes and determine how to achieve them.
“While industrial robotics made the technology credible, it is residential adoption that will make it truly mainstream – because that is when robotics moves from being a tool for specialists to a companion for everyone,” said Lv.
Home environments serve as “living laboratories”, where real-world deployment accelerates product iteration and refinement – a process critical to making robots useful in everyday settings.
According to Lv, the demand is real and the technology is now maturing.
The opportunity for robotics extended beyond residential living, said the Agibot COO.
Agibot’s robots are already being deployed on a pilot basis in commercial environments such as shopping centres, retail outlets and public spaces, performing functions including customer engagement, guided assistance and service interaction.
These environments play a critical role in preparing robotics for broader everyday use, providing real-world data and user interaction that help improve safety, reliability and performance.
“Commercial scenarios serve as a critical testing ground, preparing for entry into households,” Lv highlighted.
In integrated developments such as i-City – which combines residential, retail, hospitality and office components – Agibot is exploring how robotics can be deployed across multiple real-world environments as part of a broader ecosystem approach.
Agibot also expects the business model for robotics to evolve alongside its applications.
Rather than direct ownership, Robotics-as-a-Service – where users pay for access rather than purchasing the machine – is expected to play an increasingly important role in lowering adoption barriers.
“This significantly lowers the decision-making barrier for consumers, as they no longer need to make a large upfront commitment.
“At the same time, it gives manufacturers a strong incentive for continuous improvement.
“This creates a virtuous cycle: better user experiences lead to longer retention, which in turn funds innovation,” said Lv.
