California Hotel Robots USAGM
Metadata
- California Hotel Robots USAGM
- January 26, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: California Hotel Robots HEAD: California Hotels Use Robots to Do Service Jobs PUBLISHED AT: 0126/2022 at 8:30am BYLINE: Angelina Bagdasaryan DATELINE: Los Angeles VIDEOGRAPHER: Vazgen Varzhabetian VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original, ABC News, Zoom SCRIPT EDITORS: KE, BR PLATFORMS: TV only TRT: 2:34 VID APPROVED BY:KE TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[The current difficulty in filling many service jobs in the U.S. is leaving hotels scrambling to provide room service. But with a bit of ingenuity and a little high-tech help some American hotels are finding a way. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.]] ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: ABC News)) This is the Relay Robot. It now works at the Radisson Hotel in Sunnyvale, California, because of staff shortages caused by COVID-19. The robot is a welcome presence. ((Alex Martinez, Radisson Sunnyvale General Manager)) “There are guests who like that – the fact that they can have items delivered and not have any contact with a human being.” ((NARRATION)) Basic room service that would have been handled by staff is now handled by these robots. ((Steve Cousins, Savioke CEO)) ((Courtesy: Zoom)) “When you get a ((End courtesy)) delivery from a robot, you are not bothering a person. You know, when we think – ‘Oh, should I call the front desk, or should I just go get it myself? Sometimes, if you had the sense that they’re busy or something, you might say: ‘Well, I’ll wait, they are too busy, and it’ll take too long… When robots come, they come very fast – usually in around 5-6 minutes; they don’t ask for a tip, you don’t need to get dressed for them, you’re not bothering anybody.” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: ABC News)) Steve Cousins is CEO and founder of a company called Savioke that produces these robots. He says the trickiest bit was to teach the robots to use an elevator. ((End courtesy)) ((Steve Cousins, Savioke CEO)) ((Courtesy: Zoom)) “You have to get the elevator company to come out and modify the building in order for it to work – and that takes a lot of money and time. So, what we’ve done recently is ((Mandatory courtesy: Savioke)) we added a little button-pusher to our robot, so that it can push the buttons by itself.” ((NARRATION)) Here’s how it works: special sensors in the robot can pick the right button, avoid any obstacles it may face on the floor and finally arrive at its destination. Once it’s safely parked in front of the room door, the customer gets a message. ((Steve Cousins, Savioke CEO)) ((Courtesy: Zoom)) “When you have a ((End couretsy)) robot on your team, it doesn’t go home. So, it’s always there, it’s available 24/7. It’s not like you have to have three shifts a day plus the weekends; the robots are available whenever you need them. So, the staff loves it because they can focus on the job they’re supposed to be doing!” ((NARRATION)) In California, robots are not only doing room service at hotels and delivering food, they also patrol the streets. These police robots work in the Los Angeles parks. Yet robot designers want to reassure customers that the machines will not replace people in the industry. ((Mandatory courtesy: Savioke)) They merely want to make life a little easier for people and safer at a time when safety is a big concern. ((For Angelina Bagdasaryan in Los Angeles, Anna Rice, VOA News)) ((End courtesy))
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: California Hotel Robots HEAD: California Hotels Use Robots to Do Service Jobs PUBLISHED AT: 0126/2022 at 8:30am BYLINE: Angelina Bagdasaryan DATELINE: Los Angeles VIDEOGRAPHER: Vazgen Varzhabetian VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original, ABC News, Zoom SCRIPT EDITORS: KE, BR PLATFORMS: TV only TRT: 2:34 VID APPROVED BY:KE TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[The current difficulty in filling many service jobs in the U.S. is leaving hotels scrambling to provide room service. But with a bit of ingenuity and a little high-tech help some American hotels are finding a way. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.]] ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: ABC News)) This is the Relay Robot. It now works at the Radisson Hotel in Sunnyvale, California, because of staff shortages caused by COVID-19. The robot is a welcome presence. ((Alex Martinez, Radisson Sunnyvale General Manager)) “There are guests who like that – the fact that they can have items delivered and not have any contact with a human being.” ((NARRATION)) Basic room service that would have been handled by staff is now handled by these robots. ((Steve Cousins, Savioke CEO)) ((Courtesy: Zoom)) “When you get a ((End courtesy)) delivery from a robot, you are not bothering a person. You know, when we think – ‘Oh, should I call the front desk, or should I just go get it myself? Sometimes, if you had the sense that they’re busy or something, you might say: ‘Well, I’ll wait, they are too busy, and it’ll take too long… When robots come, they come very fast – usually in around 5-6 minutes; they don’t ask for a tip, you don’t need to get dressed for them, you’re not bothering anybody.” ((NARRATION)) ((Mandatory courtesy: ABC News)) Steve Cousins is CEO and founder of a company called Savioke that produces these robots. He says the trickiest bit was to teach the robots to use an elevator. ((End courtesy)) ((Steve Cousins, Savioke CEO)) ((Courtesy: Zoom)) “You have to get the elevator company to come out and modify the building in order for it to work – and that takes a lot of money and time. So, what we’ve done recently is ((Mandatory courtesy: Savioke)) we added a little button-pusher to our robot, so that it can push the buttons by itself.” ((NARRATION)) Here’s how it works: special sensors in the robot can pick the right button, avoid any obstacles it may face on the floor and finally arrive at its destination. Once it’s safely parked in front of the room door, the customer gets a message. ((Steve Cousins, Savioke CEO)) ((Courtesy: Zoom)) “When you have a ((End couretsy)) robot on your team, it doesn’t go home. So, it’s always there, it’s available 24/7. It’s not like you have to have three shifts a day plus the weekends; the robots are available whenever you need them. So, the staff loves it because they can focus on the job they’re supposed to be doing!” ((NARRATION)) In California, robots are not only doing room service at hotels and delivering food, they also patrol the streets. These police robots work in the Los Angeles parks. Yet robot designers want to reassure customers that the machines will not replace people in the industry. ((Mandatory courtesy: Savioke)) They merely want to make life a little easier for people and safer at a time when safety is a big concern. ((For Angelina Bagdasaryan in Los Angeles, Anna Rice, VOA News)) ((End courtesy))
- NewsML Media Topics Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date January 26, 2022 08:46 EST
- Byline Angelina Bagdasaryan
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America