This is a future we can all believe in — friendly robots coming to your hotel room to deliver food.
However, the robot has been around in prototype form for a while — since 2014, to be precise.
The friendly moving bucket is the Google Ventures-backed Savioke Relay, a helper robot specifically designed for use in hotels or other parts of the service industry. After a few test trials, it has recently started popping up in U.S. hotels.
It’s a pretty simple robot that really only does one thing — delivering food and drinks to hotel guests. It picks up the delivery from the lobby, and then finds its way to the guest’s room all by itself.
A bunch of hotel chains like Hilton, Starwood and Marriott already use Relay, and you shouldn’t be surprised when you meet one soon. It’s an easy way to cut down on employment costs if you can have a robot offering your room service.
One of Relay’s strengths is its interaction with the guest, as seen by the reaction it gives when the delivery is rated after taking out the order. When you give it five stars, it shakes and makes a high-pitched squeal to indicate it’s happy — now that’s a cute robot.
Check out the video the company created for its launch to get a closer look at how it works:
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.