cduong_Looking Outwards 01

Several years ago there was a hotel in Cupertino, California that used a 3-foot-tall robot called A.L.O. Botlr (short for “robot butler”). I really admire how society is starting to slowly try and integrate robots into society, especially in working positions like being a butler or a maid, which would allow the rest of the staff to do more than just have to run around and tend to a customer’s basic need like getting them a bottle of water.

A.L.O. Botlr was created by a start-up company known as Savioke. They used a previous robot, SaviOne, to create the robot butler, so they didn’t have to actually start “from scratch” to make this robot butler but they had to figure out what SaviOne could and couldn’t do that would be necessary in creating a successful robot butler. Although they do not specifically say how long it took to create the robot butler, it could be easily assumed that it took years to develop a working model of the robot and it is still being modified to this day to try and improve it.

There is no talk about how the robot was programmed but I can assume that there had to be some custom software/script because it is known for its “industry-first smart check-in program, “Cool Concierge” program and piloting Apple TV in-room services” to accomadate for the basic skills necessary for a robot butler working in a hotel.

Prior works that inspired A.L.O. Botlr would definitely include the SaviOne, which was a delivery robot that worked in service industries (hotels, hospitals, restaurants, etc.).

This project presents opportunities for more advanced robotics to be incorporated in a person’s everyday life such as Moley. Moley is a kitchen robot that was recently made that is a professional cook with skills equivalent to a master chef.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236759

https://techcrunch.com/2014/08/13/starwood-introduces-robotic-butlers-at-aloft-hotel-in-palo-alto/

http://www.alofthotelshub.com/news/botlr/

*More videos available in the article links above the video.