A new “robotic busser” is being trialled at Lufthansa’s lounge at Washington Dulles airport.
Hospitality firm and lounge operator Sodexo is using the robot – developed by Bear Robotics and dubbed ‘LUFTH-I’ – to roam the carrier’s lounge as a container for guests and employees “to quickly place dirty dishes and glassware” in.
Posting on LinkedIn, Sodexo Live’s North America COO Julieta Gutierrez called the busser “an efficient, fun touchpoint”, and stressed that “offering the robot is not meant to replace any human employee”.
“It’s more that it frees up an employee to work on a different task,” said Gutierrez .
“For example, we may then be able to assign greeters who have a role of welcoming, interacting with guests and finding seating space for them and sometimes politely requesting that other guests remove baggage from seats, etc.”
As technology develops robots are increasingly being used within the hospitality and aviation industry – Aloft Silicon Valley has used ‘Botlrs’ to deliver guests towels, newspapers and toiletries to guests for several years.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also accelerated the use of robotic cleaning technology – in 2020 London’s St Pancras station introduced two robots “to help eradicate viruses throughout the historical landmark’s concourse and facilities”, and more recently Travelodge enlisted a set of robot cleaners to support its housekeeping teams.
