Liu Yun, 40, entered the field after losing her job in the automotive industry and struggling to find new work because of her age.
At a Beijing studio, Liu wore a sensor bracelet and finger-mounted chips and followed instructions on a computer screen as she repeated movements such as moving cups and scrubbing surfaces.
“Rather than training robots, it feels more like teaching a two-year-old child,” Liu told Jizhou Studio, a mainland media outlet.
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Her every movement was monitored, while large screens ranked workers based on productivity and accuracy. The daily quota was 160 samples, while top performers completed more than 260.
For Liu, the repetitive work quickly became exhausting. Washing dishes and wiping tables 200 times a day was already her limit.
Students and unemployed workers join
Sun, 22, a student from Shanxi province in northern China, took the job during his summer break while looking for an internship. His assignments included folding clothes, sweeping floors and recording standardised movements for robot training.
The work paid 120 yuan (₹1,705) for a day shift and 135 yuan (₹1,918) for a night shift, but turnover was high, with many workers leaving after just a few weeks. Sun found the income insufficient to make up for the physical and mental strain of repetitive work.
For others, the work offers flexibility.
Guo Hongjuan, from Jiangsu province in eastern China, works from home for about six hours a day, collecting data through tasks such as arranging books, wiping tables and moving objects. She earns around 4,000 yuan (₹56,840) a month and says the arrangement allows her to work while caring for her child.