{"name":"What Studies Find About Pay in Robot Data and Operator Work (live data, 1 Jan 2026 to 10 Oct 2026)","question":"What have researchers and reporters measured about the pay and conditions of robot data collectors, teleoperators, safety drivers and drone pilots, and how does it compare with today's advertised rates?","source":"The studies, reports and investigations themselves, each linked beside its figure; today's advertised rates from the job boards this site reads every day.","publisher":"RobotTraining.jobs","url":"https://robottraining.jobs/research/research-on-robot-data-work-pay","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","citation":"RobotTraining.jobs (2026). What Studies Find About Pay in Robot Data and Operator Work (live data, 1 Jan 2026 to 10 Oct 2026). https://robottraining.jobs/research/research-on-robot-data-work-pay (accessed 10 Oct 2026)","frozen_at":null,"report":"research-on-robot-data-work-pay","method":1,"edition":null,"window":{"from":"2026-01-01","to":"2026-10-10","days":283},"computedAt":"2026-10-10T21:13:49.567Z","summary":"Studies and investigations of robot data and operator work have recorded hourly earnings as low as $15 an hour (The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home), while the robot training roles open today advertise a median of $26 an hour.","stats":[{"id":"studies","value":"11","label":"studies, reports and investigations","figure":"findings"},{"id":"advertised","value":"$26/hr","label":"median advertised by open roles today","figure":"hourly-pay-compared"}],"findings":[{"id":"gap","figure":"hourly-pay-compared","text":"The lowest hourly earnings measured are $15 an hour (The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home, 2026); open robot training roles advertise a median of $26 an hour today."},{"id":"coverage","figure":"findings","text":"11 studies and investigations from 2026 are recorded, with 43 figures."},{"id":"unpaid-time","figure":"findings","text":"具身智能的数据饥渴：数采员、工厂与劳务中介的“数据基建”运动 (Embodied AI's data hunger: data collectors, factories and labour agencies) (2026): trial-training pay forfeited (unpaid) if the trainee quits, 200 yuan a day, but nothing is paid if the trainee leaves during the three-day training."},{"id":"workforce","figure":"workforce-estimates","text":"China is training a robot future, one folded shirt at a time (2026) estimates planned workforce size (external workers) at 500,000 external workers."}],"figures":[{"id":"findings","title":"What the studies found","question":"What have researchers and reporters measured about pay and conditions in robot data and operator work?","columns":[{"key":"study","label":"Study","unit":"text"},{"key":"year","label":"Year","unit":"text"},{"key":"who","label":"Who was studied","unit":"text","secondary":true},{"key":"metric","label":"Measure","unit":"text"},{"key":"value","label":"Finding","unit":"text"}],"rows":[{"key":"2026-0","source":{"label":"China AI Dispatch","url":"https://chinaaidispatch.substack.com/p/beijings-first-robot-data-factory","date":"2026-09-11"},"cells":{"study":"Beijing's First Robot Data Factory Went Quiet After 17 Months","year":"2026","who":"Human data collectors at a mid-sized robot data plant in China, per 36Kr's costing","metric":"daily pay (data plant collectors)","value":"200 yuan a day"}},{"key":"2026-1","source":{"label":"China AI Dispatch","url":"https://chinaaidispatch.substack.com/p/beijings-first-robot-data-factory","date":"2026-09-11"},"cells":{"study":"Beijing's First Robot Data Factory Went Quiet After 17 Months","year":"2026","who":"Collectors wearing teleoperation rigs at a 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profiled)","metric":"hourly pay","value":"20 yuan ($3) per hour"}},{"key":"2026-4","source":{"label":"Rest of World","url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/china-ai-robotics-training-data/","date":"2026-06-03"},"cells":{"study":"China is training a robot future, one folded shirt at a time","year":"2026","who":"A home data collector in Shandong province, China, filming herself doing household chores for robot training (one worker profiled)","metric":"daily hours filming chores","value":"six hours a day"}},{"key":"2026-5","source":{"label":"Rest of World","url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/china-ai-robotics-training-data/","date":"2026-06-03"},"cells":{"study":"China is training a robot future, one folded shirt at a time","year":"2026","who":"JD.com's planned robot-training data collection programme in Suqian, China (company plan)","metric":"planned workforce size (external workers)","value":"500,000 external workers"}},{"key":"2026-6","source":{"label":"Rest of World","url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/china-ai-robotics-training-data/","date":"2026-06-03"},"cells":{"study":"China is training a robot future, one folded shirt at a time","year":"2026","who":"JD.com's planned robot-training data collection programme in Suqian, China (company plan)","metric":"planned workforce size (JD.com employees)","value":"100,000 employees"}},{"key":"2026-7","source":{"label":"Rest of World","url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/china-robots-training-centers-workers/","date":"2026-01-07"},"cells":{"study":"In Chinese data factories, workers teach humanoid robots boring tasks","year":"2026","who":"Robot trainers in China generating movement data by teleoperating humanoids","metric":"workforce size (robot trainers in China)","value":"hundreds of robot trainers across China"}},{"key":"2026-8","source":{"label":"Rest of World","url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/china-robots-training-centers-workers/","date":"2026-01-07"},"cells":{"study":"In Chinese data factories, workers teach humanoid robots boring tasks","year":"2026","who":"State-owned robot data collection centres in China, counted by Interact Analysis","metric":"state-owned robot data collection centres announced","value":"more than 40 announced by December, about two dozen in operation"}},{"key":"2026-9","source":{"label":"Rest of World","url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/china-robots-training-centers-workers/","date":"2026-01-07"},"cells":{"study":"In Chinese data factories, workers teach humanoid robots boring tasks","year":"2026","who":"A robot trainer at a Shanghai robotics startup, teleoperating a humanoid with a VR headset and arm exoskeletons (one worker profiled)","metric":"repetitions of one movement per day","value":"hundreds of times a day"}},{"key":"2026-10","source":{"label":"Business Today","url":"https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/artificial-intelligence/story/in-india-workers-supplement-their-income-by-filming-daily-tasks-to-help-train-ai-robotics-549037-2026-08-14","date":"2026-08-14"},"cells":{"study":"In India, workers supplement their income by filming daily tasks to help train AI robotics","year":"2026","who":"A waste sorter in New Delhi, India, wearing a head camera while she works (one worker profiled by Bloomberg)","metric":"hourly pay for wearing a camera at work","value":"another ₹150 per hour, on top of about ₹20,000 a month from sorting plastic"}},{"key":"2026-11","source":{"label":"MIT Technology Review","url":"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/01/1134863/humanoid-data-training-gig-economy-2026-breakthrough-technology/","date":"2026-04-01"},"cells":{"study":"The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home","year":"2026","who":"A micro1 at-home data recorder in Nigeria filming chores for robotics companies (one worker profiled)","metric":"hourly pay","value":"$15 an hour"}},{"key":"2026-12","source":{"label":"MIT Technology Review","url":"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/01/1134863/humanoid-data-training-gig-economy-2026-breakthrough-technology/","date":"2026-04-01"},"cells":{"study":"The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home","year":"2026","who":"micro1's contract data recorders worldwide","metric":"workforce size (micro1 contract recorders)","value":"thousands of contract workers in more than 50 countries"}},{"key":"2026-13","source":{"label":"MIT Technology Review","url":"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/01/1134863/humanoid-data-training-gig-economy-2026-breakthrough-technology/","date":"2026-04-01"},"cells":{"study":"The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home","year":"2026","who":"A micro1 at-home data recorder in Delhi, India (one worker profiled)","metric":"time spent producing one 15-minute video","value":"an hour to make a 15-minute 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minutes"}},{"key":"2026-16","source":{"label":"Khaleej Times","url":"https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/asia/india-workers-training-ai-robots-to-take-their-jobs","date":"2026-06-11"},"cells":{"study":"The Indian workers training AI robots to take their jobs","year":"2026","who":"Contributors of Qanat Consulting Services, an Objectways subcontractor in Andhra Pradesh, India, recording tasks for robot data","metric":"workforce size (one subcontractor's contributors)","value":"2,000 contributors"}},{"key":"2026-17","source":{"label":"Khaleej Times","url":"https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/asia/india-workers-training-ai-robots-to-take-their-jobs","date":"2026-06-11"},"cells":{"study":"The Indian workers training AI robots to take their jobs","year":"2026","who":"AI system trainers in India, including egocentric video recorders for robot training","metric":"workforce size (AI system trainers in India)","value":"a growing army of thousands"}},{"key":"2026-18","source":{"label":"woshipm.com","url":"https://www.woshipm.com/ai/6420610.html","date":"2026-06-26"},"cells":{"study":"具身智能的数据饥渴：数采员、工厂与劳务中介的“数据基建”运动 (Embodied AI's data hunger: data collectors, factories and labour agencies)","year":"2026","who":"A robot data collector in Beijing who has teleoperated robots and worn capture rigs since 2024 (one worker profiled)","metric":"daily base pay","value":"200 yuan a day base; 80 yuan more for two hours of overtime; over 300 yuan with transport allowance; 100 yuan more on night shifts"}},{"key":"2026-19","source":{"label":"woshipm.com","url":"https://www.woshipm.com/ai/6420610.html","date":"2026-06-26"},"cells":{"study":"具身智能的数据饥渴：数采员、工厂与劳务中介的“数据基建”运动 (Embodied AI's data hunger: data collectors, factories and labour agencies)","year":"2026","who":"Trainee robot data collectors recruited by labour agencies in Beijing","metric":"trial-training pay forfeited (unpaid) if the trainee quits","value":"200 yuan a day, but nothing is paid if the trainee leaves during the three-day training"}},{"key":"2026-20","source":{"label":"woshipm.com","url":"https://www.woshipm.com/ai/6420610.html","date":"2026-06-26"},"cells":{"study":"具身智能的数据饥渴：数采员、工厂与劳务中介的“数据基建”运动 (Embodied AI's data hunger: data collectors, factories and labour agencies)","year":"2026","who":"Factory workers in China paid by a data vendor to wear capture devices while working","metric":"hourly subsidy paid to factory workers wearing capture devices","value":"10 to 40 yuan an hour, depending on the setting"}},{"key":"2026-21","source":{"label":"woshipm.com","url":"https://www.woshipm.com/ai/6420610.html","date":"2026-06-26"},"cells":{"study":"具身智能的数据饥渴：数采员、工厂与劳务中介的“数据基建”运动 (Embodied AI's data hunger: data collectors, factories and labour agencies)","year":"2026","who":"A home robot data collection job advertised in China","metric":"minimum weekly filming hours required (home collection)","value":"more than 20 hours a week, for a claimed 100 yuan a day"}},{"key":"2026-22","source":{"label":"36Kr","url":"https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3893319165360899","date":"2026-07-13"},"cells":{"study":"我给机器人当“燃料”：叠衣服时薪30元，卖数据估值150亿 (I am fuel for robots: 30 yuan an hour to fold clothes)","year":"2026","who":"Robot data collector job postings on Chinese social platforms","metric":"daily pay advertised","value":"240 yuan a day"}},{"key":"2026-23","source":{"label":"36Kr","url":"https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3893319165360899","date":"2026-07-13"},"cells":{"study":"我给机器人当“燃料”：叠衣服时薪30元，卖数据估值150亿 (I am fuel for robots: 30 yuan an hour to fold clothes)","year":"2026","who":"A home data collector in Suzhou, China, wearing a five-camera capture rig (one worker profiled)","metric":"daily pay","value":"250 yuan a day"}},{"key":"2026-24","source":{"label":"36Kr","url":"https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3893319165360899","date":"2026-07-13"},"cells":{"study":"我给机器人当“燃料”：叠衣服时薪30元，卖数据估值150亿 (I am fuel for robots: 30 yuan an hour to fold clothes)","year":"2026","who":"A home data collector in Suzhou, China, wearing a five-camera capture rig (one worker profiled)","metric":"daily hours on the clock (new recruits)","value":"8 a.m. to 8 p.m., of which only about 6 hours can be filmed"}},{"key":"2026-25","source":{"label":"36Kr","url":"https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3893319165360899","date":"2026-07-13"},"cells":{"study":"我给机器人当“燃料”：叠衣服时薪30元，卖数据估值150亿 (I am fuel for robots: 30 yuan an hour to fold clothes)","year":"2026","who":"A home data collector in Suzhou, China, wearing a five-camera capture rig (one worker profiled)","metric":"time to put on the capture rig","value":"half an hour each time (minutes)"}},{"key":"2026-26","source":{"label":"36Kr","url":"https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3893319165360899","date":"2026-07-13"},"cells":{"study":"我给机器人当“燃料”：叠衣服时薪30元，卖数据估值150亿 (I am fuel for robots: 30 yuan an hour to fold clothes)","year":"2026","who":"Video quality-control reviewers at a Chinese robot data collection company","metric":"monthly pay (robot data QC 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hour"}},{"key":"2026-33","source":{"label":"36Kr","url":"https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3810340908817928","date":"2026-05-15"},"cells":{"study":"日薪120元，全民数采，谁在训练下一个机器人保姆？ (120 yuan a day: who is training the next robot nanny?)","year":"2026","who":"A crowdsourced home data collector in Hebei, China (one worker profiled)","metric":"daily earnings","value":"about 120 yuan a day, from at least 8 hours of filming of which under half counted as effective"}},{"key":"2026-34","source":{"label":"36Kr","url":"https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3810340908817928","date":"2026-05-15"},"cells":{"study":"日薪120元，全民数采，谁在训练下一个机器人保姆？ (120 yuan a day: who is training the next robot nanny?)","year":"2026","who":"Robot data collection job postings in Chinese part-time work groups, March 2026","metric":"daily pay advertised (teleoperating robots at a collection site)","value":"180 to 250 yuan a day"}},{"key":"2026-35","source":{"label":"36Kr","url":"https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3810340908817928","date":"2026-05-15"},"cells":{"study":"日薪120元，全民数采，谁在训练下一个机器人保姆？ (120 yuan a day: who is training the next robot nanny?)","year":"2026","who":"Robot data collection job postings in Chinese part-time work groups, March 2026","metric":"daily pay advertised (home collection with wearables)","value":"120 yuan a day plus performance pay"}},{"key":"2026-36","source":{"label":"36Kr","url":"https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3810340908817928","date":"2026-05-15"},"cells":{"study":"日薪120元，全民数采，谁在训练下一个机器人保姆？ (120 yuan a day: who is training the next robot nanny?)","year":"2026","who":"Crowdsourced robot data collectors in China, paid per effective (accepted) hour","metric":"crowdsourced pay per effective hour","value":"20 to 22 yuan an hour, down from 50 yuan an hour in early March 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population, place and year: they are not adjusted for inflation or currency."]},{"id":"hourly-pay-compared","title":"Hourly pay in the studies, against what open roles advertise today","question":"How do the hourly earnings researchers measured compare with today's advertised rates?","columns":[{"key":"study","label":"Figure","unit":"text"},{"key":"year","label":"Year","unit":"text"},{"key":"who","label":"Population","unit":"text","secondary":true},{"key":"measure","label":"Measure","unit":"text"},{"key":"rate","label":"US dollars an hour","unit":"usd","decimals":2,"bar":true}],"rows":[{"key":"advertised-median","cells":{"study":"Open robot training roles on RobotTraining.jobs, median","year":"2026","who":"109 open roles stating an hourly rate on 9 Oct 2026","measure":"Advertised","rate":26}},{"key":"advertised-p25","cells":{"study":"Open robot training roles on RobotTraining.jobs, lowest quarter","year":"2026","who":"25th percentile of the same roles","measure":"Advertised","rate":22}},{"key":"2026-h0","source":{"label":"MIT Technology Review","url":"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/01/1134863/humanoid-data-training-gig-economy-2026-breakthrough-technology/","date":"2026-04-01"},"cells":{"study":"The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home: hourly pay","year":"2026","who":"A micro1 at-home data recorder in Nigeria filming chores for robotics companies (one worker profiled)","measure":"Measured","rate":15}}],"sample":"Hourly figures in US dollars from the studies (1), and the advertised hourly pay of the robot training roles open on the last day of this site's live window.","notes":["Advertised pay is what a posting offers for an hour of work; a study may measure what workers actually earned, for its own population and year. The two are not the same measure.","Studies in other currencies are listed in the first figure, not converted here."]},{"id":"workforce-estimates","title":"How many people do this work","question":"How many people train and operate robots, by the studies' estimates?","columns":[{"key":"study","label":"Study","unit":"text"},{"key":"year","label":"Year","unit":"text"},{"key":"metric","label":"Measure","unit":"text"},{"key":"value","label":"Estimate","unit":"text"}],"rows":[{"key":"2026-0","source":{"label":"Rest of World","url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/china-ai-robotics-training-data/","date":"2026-06-03"},"cells":{"study":"China is training a robot future, one folded shirt at a time","year":"2026","who":"JD.com's planned robot-training data collection programme in Suqian, China (company plan)","metric":"planned workforce size (external workers)","value":"500,000 external workers"}},{"key":"2026-1","source":{"label":"Rest of World","url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/china-ai-robotics-training-data/","date":"2026-06-03"},"cells":{"study":"China is training a robot future, one folded shirt at a time","year":"2026","who":"JD.com's planned robot-training data collection programme in Suqian, China (company plan)","metric":"planned workforce size (JD.com employees)","value":"100,000 employees"}},{"key":"2026-2","source":{"label":"Khaleej Times","url":"https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/asia/india-workers-training-ai-robots-to-take-their-jobs","date":"2026-06-11"},"cells":{"study":"The Indian workers training AI robots to take their jobs","year":"2026","who":"Contributors of Qanat Consulting Services, an Objectways subcontractor in Andhra Pradesh, India, recording tasks for robot data","metric":"workforce size (one subcontractor's contributors)","value":"2,000 contributors"}},{"key":"2026-3","source":{"label":"Rest of World","url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/china-robots-training-centers-workers/","date":"2026-01-07"},"cells":{"study":"In Chinese data factories, workers teach humanoid robots boring tasks","year":"2026","who":"Robot trainers in China generating movement data by teleoperating humanoids","metric":"workforce size (robot trainers in China)","value":"hundreds of robot trainers across China"}},{"key":"2026-4","source":{"label":"MIT Technology Review","url":"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/01/1134863/humanoid-data-training-gig-economy-2026-breakthrough-technology/","date":"2026-04-01"},"cells":{"study":"The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home","year":"2026","who":"micro1's contract data recorders worldwide","metric":"workforce size (micro1 contract recorders)","value":"thousands of contract workers in more than 50 countries"}},{"key":"2026-5","source":{"label":"Khaleej Times","url":"https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/asia/india-workers-training-ai-robots-to-take-their-jobs","date":"2026-06-11"},"cells":{"study":"The Indian workers training AI robots to take their jobs","year":"2026","who":"AI system trainers in India, including egocentric video recorders for robot training","metric":"workforce size (AI system trainers in India)","value":"a growing army of thousands"}}],"sample":"6 estimates of the size of the workforce.","notes":["Estimates count different populations (one country's drone pilots, one company's operators, a program's contributors) and are not comparable with one another."]}]}