Singapore Introduces Aura, the Room Service Robot

AURA is currently an “employee” at M social Hotel in Singapore. The hotel is designed with the business-traveling millennial in mind.

 

AURA is currently an “employee” at M social Hotel in Singapore. The hotel is designed with the business-traveling millennial in mind.

"The inspiration behind AURA the Relay Robot is to bring convenience and delight to guests and to help staff focus on improving guest experiences," Lee Richards, Millennium Hotels and Resorts' vice president of operations, tells CNN Travel.

AURA has been especially created and designed to deliver room amenities to guests. Moreover, she is the first of her kind to exist outside the US, which makes her role at M Social a turning point in the Southeast Asian hospitality industry.

"Savioke [...] is committed to measurably improve the lives of people by creating and deploying friendly service robots that work safely, securely and reliably in human environments," says Richards.

Not only AURA is compact and stylish, but also very skilled. She knows how to operate an elevator, navigate her own way to guests' doors, and also let them know when she has arrived outside their room.

AURA's presence at M Social has been a success so far; however, Richards stresses that this does not mean that the future hotels will be staffed with robots.

"The heart of hospitality is really about people," he says. "We are not simply replacing people with robots or technology. Instead, we want to use technology to further enhance our services."

With this being said, the main idea is that if AURA is handling the simple tasks such as delivering a bottled water or towels to a room, the human staff can focus on other jobs.

"[We can] focus on providing personalized touches and surprises to delight guests who stay with us on special occasions or have special requests," Richards adds.

More robots are in the works for Millennium hotels; AURA's brother has the ability to cook different types of eggs and should be in service by 2018.