Robots Bring Business Value by Handling the Simple Things

For businesses considering the value of a robot companion in their shop or workspace, keep in mind the rule that robots excel at simple, repeatable tasks. Businesses of all industries are experiencing productivity and capability benefits by integrating robotics into their daily workflows. However, the value of these benefits is best realized when understanding the types of tasks for which robots are optimized: the regular, boring routines.

Restaurants, hotels, and hospitals are investing in robotics not to accomplish unimagined feats, but to take care of the doldrums that are distracting real-people from high-value tasks. Across industries, a prime example of this is the utilization of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) as automated delivery machines.

An Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) is a robot that is able to freely and autonomously navigate a space. While navigating the space, an AMR can also perform valuable functions. For instance, AMRs can monitor a space with a camera, such as in the case of security drones, or scrub the floors with brush attachments, such as in the case of commercial cleaning bots. But at its most simple, an AMR is what its name says: autonomous mobility.

Using AMRs for automated delivery exemplifies the robot optimization rule of applying robots to regular, boring routines. In hospitals, these types of robots can readily deliver pharmaceuticals and supplies throughout a building complex, thereby freeing hospital staff from the supply foraging tasks that might otherwise distract from focused patient care. Hotels employ AMRs for simple room service deliveries of towels, food, and beverage, enabling front desks to remain on-call for guests. Restaurants are employing AMRs to carry entrees to a table and transport dirty dishes back to the kitchen, liberating waiters to spend more time interacting directly with diners.

In each of these examples, the robots do the simple thing, so the subject matter experts within the company can be optimized to make real impact. In this way, these businesses are able to deliver greater value because they utilized automation to eliminate distraction.

The key insight here is this: robots do not necessarily need to bring value through new capability. Their hidden potential is in enabling people resources to achieve more.

Robots are bringing value to new industries every day. When you are evaluating your business for a new automation solution, find the elements of your workflows that can be broken down into the most simple and repeatable tasks. By automating the simple and repeatable with robotics, businesses can unlock new value.