Smart Industry 1/2019
Smart Industry 1/2019 - The IoT Business Magazine - powered by Avnet Silica
Smart Industry 1/2019 - The IoT Business Magazine - powered by Avnet Silica
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<strong>Smart</strong> Lifestyle IoT and Hospitality<br />
IoT and Hospitality<br />
The Robot Will<br />
Serve you now<br />
In the world of tomorrow,<br />
service robots<br />
and automated<br />
assistance systems<br />
will serve us just like<br />
human waiters used to<br />
do. But is the hospitality<br />
industry ready for<br />
the next technological<br />
revolution?<br />
n By Robert Brunner<br />
Robots used to be stationary<br />
machines; powerful and<br />
usually expensive automation<br />
systems programmed<br />
to do repetitive tasks. For example,<br />
industrial robot arms repeat the<br />
same action over and over again<br />
Service robots<br />
will soon be<br />
standard at any<br />
hotel.<br />
Robert Brunner,<br />
B’Impress,<br />
with the utmost precision. Service<br />
robots, on the other hand, open up<br />
a new field – one of flexible, semiautonomous,<br />
or fully autonomous,<br />
robotics. It is no longer just about<br />
automating certain human tasks. It’s<br />
more about flexible and (partially)<br />
autonomous robots enabling new<br />
and much more complex workflows.<br />
In short, robots are no longer one-trick<br />
ponies that automate a single task.<br />
Thanks to falling component costs,<br />
technological advances, and novel<br />
business models, robotics is finally<br />
leaving the realm of science fiction.<br />
Service robots will soon be commonplace<br />
in hotels, hospitals, restaurants,<br />
warehouses, and retail stores, and<br />
even in our homes, performing staff<br />
services and housekeeping tasks.<br />
The Time Has Come<br />
The hospitality industry is a perfect<br />
example of the emerging worldwide<br />
market. Products are available from<br />
established manufacturers like Savioke<br />
and Omron Adept, as well as<br />
start-ups like Fetch Robotics and Fellow<br />
Robotics in the US, and Robotise<br />
in Germany. In addition, there are humanoid<br />
robots such as Kuri from Mayfield<br />
Robotics in the US and Pepper<br />
from Japan’s SoftBank Robotics (formerly<br />
Aldebaran Robotics, France). All<br />
of these companies are in the process<br />
of developing disruptive technolo-<br />
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