Will This New Device Put Hotel Housekeepers Out Of Work?
Hotel housekeepers face a new challenge: automation. A new machine threatens to render these workers redundant.
Could AI-Powered Robotic Automation Render Hotel Housekeepers Redundant?
A new machine appears to perform the functions of a hotel maid with speed and precision:
The robot is called Peanut and comes equipped with a cloth for cleaning various surfaces. This robot is very agile and can reach hard-to-reach places.
Peanut navigates rooms independently, self-monitors, and collects data 24/7, operating without constant human supervision.
Peanut runs a transformer-based AI model. Cleaning for hotels, corporate buildings, and commercial outlets is made simple and available 24/7 (excluding charging).
Take a look:
(and based on the images, it appears that “Peanut” has already been placed at a Sheraton hotel in somewhere tropical…)
Hotels are typically a low-margin business and I can see hotel management companies grinning like a Cheshire cat over the possibility of lowering labor costs at their properties.
Across the economy, automation threatens to disrupt careers ranging from the menial to the professional. Will AI-powered robots perform surgery? Write legal briefs? Build homes? Drive taxis? Program software?
While I tend to think progress toward that utopia (dystopia) will be slower than we might expect, we already see fast food workers replaced by kiosks and even when you visit airport lounges, you now see robotic carts zooming around the lounge collecting dirty cups and dishes.
AI may be more of a tool than a human replacement now, but for how long?
In the case of hotel housekeeping, perhaps sooner than we think…
image: @evovling.AI / Instagram