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Compass Group and robotics supplier to the hospitality industry, SoftBank Robotics, have been shortlisted for an award that recognises their innovative application of robotic solutions in food and beverage.
The Robotics & Automation Awards celebrate the latest innovations and highest achievements across the world of robotics and automation, with awards made in a range of categories, including best use of robotics or automation in cleaning and sanitation, retail, and construction.
Compass and SoftBank Robotics have been shortlisted in the ‘best use of robotics or automation in food and beverage’ category. The two companies made it onto the shortlist after SoftBank installed its ‘Keenbot’ tray delivery robots in Compass Group’s head office in Chertsey, Surrey.
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London on 31 October.
In a four-week pilot, the robots – also referred to as “cobots” because of their collaborative work alongside humans – were used to deliver food in the on-site restaurants and across other parts of the building where 200 employees are based.
This included providing meals to tables, taking away empty plates, and using sound and voice features to enhance customer engagement.
Due to the success of the trial and the metrics collected, Compass has now deployed cobots throughout its Global HQ restaurants and to serve conference rooms, as well as supplying them to several large clients.
Charles Elliott, a regional General Manager for Compass Group, said: “The robots have helped improve efficiency within the workplace by allowing table service to be delivered whilst the catering team are still serving customers on the counter. It also adds innovation to the site which has sparked attraction from other clients.”
Compass wanted to explore the introduction of cobots as part of its mission to implement digital technology and innovative solutions that help support frontline teams and meet the needs of clients and end users.
With the current staff shortages faced by hospitality, coupled with increased customer demand for high-quality, ultra-convenient, technology-led services, cobots offered a realistic and cost-effective solution.
Compass is using two models of Keenbot from SoftBank Robotics: the T5 tray delivery cobot for restaurant service, and the W3 room service cobot to deliver food and drink to other areas within a building.
During the initial pilot, the T5 completed 142 trips during breakfast delivery, the W3 completed 38 trips for hospitality deliveries, and in total the robots covered a distance of 2,147 metres.
Harry Ridley, Automation and Emerging Technology manager for Compass, said: “The trials at Compass Group HQ at Chertsey were a great success. Off the back of these trials, a large amount of data metrics has been collected, including hours of operators’ time saved, increased customer satisfaction and improved service times. In particular, the tray robot has provided tangible benefits in all of these metrics.
“It is a no-brainer to deploy robots throughout our global HQ restaurants and to serve conference rooms. We are already expanding our cobotic service solution to several large clients, both in the university education sector and business and industry space, with more planned in the next few months in partnership with SoftBank.”
