The service robot revolution is here
When I walk into a hotel or restaurant these days, I half expect a smiling, bow-tied robot to greet me with a warm “Welcome!” and friendly beeping.
That’s because service sectors like hospitality and healthcare are turning to the latest service robots to help address staff shortages that have only got worse since the pandemic. In fact, the market for these robots is now growing faster than the industrial robot market that has dominated growth (and factory floors) for the past decade.[1]
Some people remain cautious about overhyping service robots. We’ve seen false dawns before, so scepticism of where these robots can deliver true value, how ready the technology is for the mainstream and whether human workers, customers and patients will (or indeed should) accept robotic assistance is understandable.
I think there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic on all these counts. In this article, I take a closer look at where my optimism comes from and how leaders can make the most of the current momentum.?
Why service sectors need robots now more than ever
For me, one of the strongest indicators that service robots are at the cusp of a revolution is how they can help address the enormous problem of staff shortages in service sectors.
The care and hospitality sectors in particular are struggling with the effects of the pandemic, aging populations and difficult working conditions. An MIT professor estimates a shortfall of 355,000 paid care workers by 2040 in the US alone,[2] while more than half of respondents to a post-pandemic survey said they would not return to a hospitality role despite offers of pay increases or better benefits.[3]
Service robots are already gaining traction as a solution to help plug these gaps. In Japanese care homes, robots are helping with routine tasks like lifting and transporting residents and detecting falls or calls for help.[4],[5] Over in the US, Stevie the humanoid care robot (a sub-set of service robots)[6] is popular with care home residents for its entertaining conversation, jokes and even karaoke sessions.[7]
If you live stateside, your next burger might be cooked by a bot too. Over the course of 2022, US fast-food chain White Castle introduced Flippy 2 the burger bot to kitchens in 100 locations.[8] Flippy is fully autonomous, using computer vision to identify different menu items before cooking up a storm with its pan and deep-frying skills.[9]
Looking beyond staff shortages, the pandemic showed us that service robots can also play vital roles when conditions are too high risk for people. For example, demand is expected to stay strong for professional cleaning robots to disinfect public spaces, kitchen robots to minimize contact between people and food and telepresence-enabled social robots to connect care home residents with their loved ones safely when physical contact is high risk.[10]
Cheaper, smarter, safer — a new generation of service robots
Behind all these opportunities is the latest robotic technology, which has made good progress towards being ready for mainstream adoption. Most exciting for me is the strengthening partnership between robotics and AI.
When you combine AI’s ability to learn over time with advances in computer vision, cameras, sensors and cloud-based robotics, you enable robots to navigate autonomously in constantly changing environments. You also give them the cognitive and emotional skills that are so essential for high quality care and service.
While today’s service robots complete relatively simple tasks in structured indoor environments, AI-enabled robotic innovations open up much more. Future robots will take on more complex tasks safely in less structured environments, such as counselling, nursing and education.
Falling costs and Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) will also play a part. The cost of robots has been declining at an average rate of 10% per year over the last decade and is predicted to halve by 2025.[11] Growing adoption of RaaS is helping to lower the barrier of entry too, enabling smaller businesses to get involved.
A human-robot service sector future
To take advantage of these technology developments, business leaders need to think carefully about how to empower employees to work collaboratively with service robots.
Employees are understandably concerned about being replaced. Although robots are expected to generate more jobs overall, they could still displace around 85 million of today’s roles by 2025.[12] It’s therefore critical that leaders invest time in understanding how to leverage the strengths of human and robotic talent to create the best results for our organizations.
For instance, a study of Japanese care homes found that those with service robots created more jobs than those without because improved working conditions attract talent.[13] White Castle kitchens with Flippy are safer for staff because the robot frees up more space between them and hot appliances.[14]
By engaging constructively and openly with employees about the opportunities and risks of service robots, leaders can be mindful of their concerns and find a balance where their talents are enhanced, not replaced. If we are similarly mindful of customers and patients, our future selves may wonder how service sectors ever managed without them.
The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms.
[1] https://ifr.org/ (Oct, 2021)
[4] Stanford (2022) Robot Adoption Brings Benefits to Japan’s Aging Society (Feb, 2021)
[7] Trinity College Dublin (2022) Design of embodied social robot v2.0 'Stevie' (Accessed Jan, 2023)
[10] World Robotics 2021 – Service Robots report released - International Federation of Robotics (ifr.org) (Nov, 2021)
[14] MisoRobotics (2021) Miso Robotics Announces Flippy 2 Next Generation Flagship Product (Nov, 2021)?
Head of Workplace Experience & Advanced Analytics
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