The work is largely done by robots in the automotive industry. And at the beginning of 2016, Zora, the care robot who sang songs with residents of a Rotterdam care complex, fleetingly made it into the news. Robots can simplify our lives. In conversation with Walther Huyzen, Services Manager at Aegon, and Erik Veurink, Scrum Master at the Sodexo Innovation Hub.
Erik: “We don’t believe robots could replace people, but we do believe they can help making the job easier. We entered into discussion with Awabot, the manufacturer of the delivery robot, as to what would be possible. For example, the robot they developed can take care of banqueting in the boardrooms. Very useful!”
They are very interested in the robot at Aegon in the Hague. Walther Huyzen: “We at Aegon are constantly deploying innovation when it comes to developing services and products for our clients. The Services Department also embraces initiatives by our partners, including Sodexo.
We therefore gladly make our office environment available as a testing environment to work with Sodexo in further exploring the options a robot can offer – of course, the ultimate goal being improving our service to our customers.”
Erik: “A pilot project will soon start with the robot, thanks to Aegon’s support and enthusiasm. The Aegon Head Office lends itself perfectly for this purpose: there are no thresholds and no doors, so the robot can go everywhere with ease. Our on-site team is also very excited! At first, the robot will bring items from the kitchen to the espresso bar, and take care of small banqueting activities. But with Aegon we will also see if it will be possible to transport small items like office supplies and ICT components.
During the first stage, the robot will only move around on the ground floor. In the meantime, we are working with the lift manufacturer to ensure the robot can also operate the lift, so it can also move through the rest of the building. I think this is a fun and exciting development. Aegon is the first location in the Netherlands who will be using this robotic service. I think it’s great to do this with our client.”
How does the robot know what you want to order? You submit your order through an on-line platform. An employee places the order in the robot, tells the robot where it must go, and allocates a QR code to the order. When the robot arrives at its destination, the employee scans the QR code, the robot opens and the order can be retrieved.
Do you want to know more about the food delivery robot? Please contact your regular contact person.