 |
The
service robot is expected to begin servicing guests at a hotel in October
|
The
robotics industry is revolutionizing the world, and Alibaba A.I. Labs is raising the stakes in this cutting-edge
industry with the announcement of launching service robots for the hospitality
sector starting in October. The news was made at The Computing Conference 2018,
which is scheduled for four days till September 22 in Hangzhou, China, the site
of Alibaba’s headquarters.
Alibaba
A.I. Labs is the department leading consumer AI product development at Alibaba.
Hotels
have until now depended entirely on human labor. But the Labs' service robot -
from delivering meals to taking laundry to guests - demonstrates what guests
can expect at hotels in the future. Guests talk to the robot via voice command,
touch and hand gesture, and its responses are driven by AliGenie, the software
that powers Alibaba A.I. Labs’ smart speaker, Tmall Genie.
“We
are excited by this tremendous development that is helping us bridge the gap
between guest needs and the response time that they expect. Alibaba A.I. Labs’
robot is the next step in the evolution towards smart hotels. In addition, it
is solving pain points in the hotel sector, such as enhancing service
efficiency, with our leading AI technologies,” says Lijuan Chen, General Manager
of Alibaba A.I. Labs. “The robot will be the ultimate assistant for hotel guests who want everything quickly and
conveniently at their fingertips.”
The technology that drives the Labs’ service robot is state-of-the-art,
combining aluminum casing with multi-sensor data functionality and parallel
computing for lightning quick responses. It also includes a semantic map,
autonomous navigation system to identify obstacles, communication systems to
control elevators, and identity verification via facial-recognition technology.
The
robot’s height is less than one meter, while its walking speed reaches one
meter per second. After a trial at a hotel, Alibaba A.I. Labs will assess its
suitability for other areas, including hospitals, restaurants and office
services.
According
to the International Federation of Robotics,
the global market for service robots are on the rise. The market is expected to
grow from 20% to 25% from 2018 to 2020, while the sales forecast 2018-2020
indicates a cumulative volume of around 27 billion U.S. dollars for the
professional service segment.
Following
the unveiling of the robot, Alibaba A.I. Labs also announced Tmall Genie Auto,
the latest initiative in smart mobility and expanding the Tmall Genie
ecosystem.
Tmall
Genie is the most popular smart speaker in China, with over 5 million units
sold since its launch in 2017. It ranks number three in total shipments in the
global smart-speaker market.
For the latest announcements and talks from The
Computing Conference 2018, please refer to the Alizila page:
https://www.alizila.com/the-computing-conference-2018-media-resources
ABOUT ALIBABA A.I. LABS
Alibaba A.I. Labs is dedicated to exploring the next-generation
human-and-computer interaction and turning novel user experience into reality.
The in-house R&D department focuses on the development of innovative AI
applications across Alibaba’s commerce ecosystem and provides AI solutions to
Alibaba’s clients and partners. With a world-class research team, Alibaba A.I.
Labs focuses on both theoretical research and product commercialization in
various areas, including speech recognition, natural language processing, voice
print identification, deep learning, and computer vision. The Labs also focuses
on developing AI products for consumers, including Tmall Genie, the first
voice-controlled smart home assistant developed by the Labs.