Meet Relay – The Delivery Robot

It seems that technology is finally starting to catch up with the WALL-E’s vision of robotic servants tending to human whims. Not long ago we wrote about the post-Roomba gardening robot Tertill, today we introduce Relay – a delivery robot by Savioke.

Relay For Hotels

Intended mainly for delivery purposes in hotels, Relay has made over 56,000 autonomous deliveries since it was first introduced two years ago. How does it work? Whenever a guest requests a delivery to their room, the reception desk clerk loads the items into the robot and sends it on its way. 3D cameras and sensors allow it to recognize its surroundings and move through the hotel without any problems. It rides the elevator, calls the guests and welcomes them with the thing they ordered. Afterward, it goes back to the docking station to charge and await further instructions. The robot saves time for the hotel staff as they don’t need to leave the reception desk anymore and cuts down the overall delivery time significantly. Not to mention the customer experience! The guests absolutely love interacting with Relay and name it as a highlight of their stay.

Future Upgrades

The Savioke team is working on improving their invention even more. One of the possible future upgrades is the integration with Amazon Echo’s Alexa. It might be possible to send the robot with nothing more than a voice command. The request is transferred to Rely via Alexa Web Service and AWS Lambda. It’s also possible for Alexa to report the delivery status back to the person who requested it. Furthermore, the robotic butler can serve as a welcoming officer when the staff is on a break. Having informed the personnel about the guest arrival using a doorbell app, it guides them to the waiting area and offers them a drink.

You can see Relay in action in the video below: