Summer vacation 2.0 Service Robot Delivers Drinks Directly to Your Room

Related Vendors

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders' Association (TMBA)

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

Robotise Technologies GmbH, a Munich-based company, is revolutionizing hospitality with its autonomous robot waiters. These robots utilize space-saving energy chains from igus, enhancing efficiency and maneuverability. The collaboration marks a significant step in integrating advanced robotics into service industries, promising improved customer experience and operational efficiency. The use of igus energy chains ensures reliable, uninterrupted service, showcasing the potential of robotics in everyday applications.

After a long day at the beach, enjoy the hotel room with a drink from the good old minibar. This is already looking different in some hotels. Instead, to the guests' surprise, Jeeves rings the doorbell—a robot from the Munich-based company Robotise Technologies GmbH. The waiter-like service robot replaces up to 300 minibars and relieves hotels in times of staff shortages. To ensure he can do his job without interruptions, the engineers rely on space-saving and fail-safe energy chains from igus for the managing of sensitive energy and data cables.

If you're thirsty or hungry, a phone call or a message via app is enough to activate Jeeves, who visually reminds you of R2D2 from Star Wars. The 124 cm tall and 100 kg heavy service robot, equipped with laser system, 3D camera and distance sensors, then autonomously drives to the guest's room, even with the elevator. Once at the room, Jeeves draws attention to himself via a phone call or app notification. The guest opens the door, selects and pays for his product—such as a cold beer, an energy drink or a packet of peanuts—via a large touch display. Then one of the four drawers automatically opens and releases the selected product. Just a technical gimmick? Much more than that, according to Robotise Technologies GmbH. Hotels can save replenishing and cleaning 300 minibars with just one robot and at the same time cut the energy for the small refrigerators from the electricity bill. In the future, trade fairs, canteens, offices, airports, museums and restaurants could also benefit from this.

A weak point of the robot: guiding energy and data lines

Jeeves impressively demonstrates how automation continues to make its way into people's lives. However, this development requires technical reliability. "A faulty robot waiter would immediately attract the annoyance of guests," explains Clemens Beckmann, Head of Engineering at Robotise Technologies. "That's why we placed great emphasis on designing Jeeves as reliably as possible." A typical Achilles' heel in this context was the routing of the cables inside the robot, which are responsible for transferring energy and data—for example to the sensors in the extendable compartments, with which the robot can detect inserted and removed products. It could easily happen that the cables are bent too much and break or freeze onto the cooling plate of the refrigerator. "To prevent this and ensure a controlled and fail-safe movement of the cables with a firmly defined bending radius, we decided to use E2.10 series energy chains from igus," Beckmann explains.

Igus e-chains ensure maximum storage space and quietness

The E2.10 series from igus particularly impressed the engineer with its space-saving design, which creates plenty of storage space for the products. The energy chains, which safely accommodate the energy and data lines, are mounted on the guide rails of the drawers, have an internal width of 18 mm, an internal height of 10 mm and a bending radius of only 28 mm. According to Robotise Technologies GmbH, these energy chains are the most compact solution that could be found on the market. They also score points for their high fail-safe reliability and longevity, as they are made of a high-performance plastic that offers high resistance to wear and abrasion and is suitable for use in a wide temperature range. This robustness reduces the likelihood of service calls, which has a positive impact on the economic efficiency of the robot, which is intended for use throughout Europe. In addition, the chain links move particularly quietly, so that the cable guidance does not cause any disturbing noises when opening and closing the product compartments.

The only question that remains is: Why is the robot called Jeeves? The answer: Jeeves is an iconic character from the novels of English author P.G. Wodehouse. He is the servant of the character Bertie Wooster and represents the best and most discreet service.