Robot Butlers Debut in Five U.S. Hotels
Remember R2-D2 from the Star Wars movies? Well, it seems that his younger sibling (some call him BOTLR) is currently roaming the halls of five U.S. hotels performing simple room delivery services.
The video to the right shows the Crown Plaza version (Dash) delivering items to a hotel room, and even negotiating the elevator.
The robot butler, created by the folks at Savioke, is approximately 3 feet tall, weighs less than 100 lbs., has a carrying capacity of 2 cubic feet, and is designed to travel at a human walking pace.
It can even travel independently between floors via the hotel elevator. When it arrives at the appropriate guest room, it phones the guest to announce its arrival, delivers the goods and makes its way back to the front desk. The robot will know when a guest opens the door via an onboard camera. Once the door opens, the robot will unlock, open its lid and provide instructions through onscreen prompts for guests to remove the item and close the lid.
As you might imagine, the new robotic butler has debuted in hotel brands that are more geared towards the more tech-forward millennials, but if all goes well, we may see them roaming the halls of a Four Seasons near you.
What say you? Good Idea? Too impersonal?
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I love it! :inlove: