Robot room service at hotels will be expanding thanks to a hefty investment in a U.S. company. Savioke has designed the "Relay" robot that was tested at several hotels last year. They made over 11,000 deliveries, the Daily Mail reports. The hotels using Relay are all based in California and include the Holiday Inn Express in Redwood City and the Residence Inn in Los Angeles, according to the company website.
"The time has finally come when robots are going to be at our beck and call, and for our robots in the hospitality industry we mean that quite literally," CEO Steve Cousins said.
The company has now received $15 million in funding from Intel Capital, EDBI and Northern Light Venture Capital, according to the LA Times. Google Ventures gave the company its initial investment along with AME Cloud Ventures.
The robot weighs 100 pounds, stands 3-feet-tall and uses Wi-Fi and 3-D cameras to support in its deliveries.
Staff at the hotels can simply pack the requested items into the top of the robot and enter a room number, The Daily Mail explains. The robot then uses Wi-Fi to call the elevator. When it reaches the room it simply dials the guest's phone. After the delivery has been made, the robot then returns to the charging dock.
The most common item requested last year was toothpaste.
Savioke does not sell the robots but instead rents them to hotel customers with a monthly fee, the Wall Street Journal explains.
