Today, due to the declining birthrate and aging population, the shortage of human resources and the aging of the workforce are accelerating, and there is a need to both save labor and improve productivity. The emphasis here is on the use of service robots. This article provides an overview of service robots, the benefits of introducing them, and specific usage scenarios.
What is a service robot? Explain the definition
Service robot are robots that are used in public places, medical facilities, stores, hotels, commercial facilities, and general households. The main purpose is to improve the quality of services and comfort of life, and it is used in a variety of areas such as transportation, reception, guidance, cleaning, nursing care, catering, security, inspection, and inventory management. In recent years, many office buildings have introduced complex service robots that are equipped with multiple functions such as security, reception, and guidance.
Difference between service robots and industrial robots
We are currently at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and robotics is attracting attention as one of the technologies that will support its realization. The robot market can be broadly divided into service robots and industrial robots. These differences are where the technology and features are utilized. The Japanese Industrial Standards define the difference between service robots and industrial robots as follows:
■Industrial robots
A robot that is an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, versatile manipulator, programmable in three or more axes, fixed in place or with mobile capabilities, used in industrial automation applications.
■Service robot
A robot that performs tasks that are beneficial to people or equipment. Excludes those used for industrial automation purposes.
Industrial robots are capable of complex control of multi-axis manipulators (arm-shaped remote control devices), and are primarily used to replace human work at manufacturing sites. Service robots, on the other hand, support human tasks and movements for purposes other than industrial use. In other words, industrial robots are robots that are mainly used in production factories and production lines, and service robots are robots that are used in other areas of life and services. Additionally, unlike industrial robots that simply carry out predetermined actions, service robots are characterized by the fact that many of them can communicate with humans. Furthermore, service robots are broadly divided into commercial and personal use, and indoor and outdoor use.
Advantages of introducing service robots
There are three main benefits of using service robots in business fields:
Can reduce labor costs
By introducing service robots, it is possible to reduce labor costs. For example, serving robots are becoming popular in the food and beverage industry. AI-equipped robots automatically serve food and drinks, significantly reducing the workload on hall staff. In this way, the introduction of service robots not only contributes to reducing labor costs, but also eliminates imbalances in hourly wages such as late at night, weekends, and holidays when there are fewer workers.
In Japan, as the shortage of human resources worsens due to the effects of the declining birthrate and aging population, the average hourly wage of part-time workers is increasing year by year. Therefore, how to reduce labor costs while maintaining service quality and labor productivity is an important issue for small and medium-sized enterprises and privately run restaurants that lack financial resources. Although introducing a service robot requires a certain amount of cost, it can reduce labor costs by reducing the workload and contribute to stabilizing cash flow.
Improved customer satisfaction
The introduction of service robots will also lead to improved customer satisfaction. For example, if tasks such as serving and preparing meals at a restaurant can be automated, hall staff will have more free time to focus on customer service. This makes it possible to provide personalized and attentive service to each customer, which can be expected to improve overall customer satisfaction.
Another major benefit is that if service robots can replace tasks such as office reception and cleaning, freed human resources can be focused on core tasks that directly lead to improved business performance. Originally, there is no superiority or inferiority to any business, but since a company’s management resources are limited, it is extremely important to distinguish between core business and non-core business. Concentrating resources on highly important tasks will contribute to improving the quality of products and services, which in turn will lead to maximizing customer satisfaction.
Eliminating labor shortages
According to data from the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the estimated total population of Japan is 124.56 million as of July 1, 2023, which has continued to decline since peaking at 128.08 million in 2008. As a result, the working-age population is decreasing, and the current situation in Japan is that the shortage of human resources and the aging of the workforce are becoming increasingly serious in various fields. In order for companies to continue to develop in this social context, they must both reduce labor and improve productivity.
If non-core tasks can be streamlined and automated by introducing service robots, tasks that would previously require multiple people can now be handled by a small number of people, making it possible to achieve productivity equal to or higher than before with fewer resources. Additionally, in order to design the placement and wiring of service robots, it is necessary to understand the overall picture of the business process. If the existing business flow can be visualized during this process, it has the advantage of contributing to streamlining operations and reducing man-hours.
Service robot introduction example
Here, we will introduce scenarios in which “security robots” and “cleaning robots” are used as typical examples of service robots.
Security robot example
One of the typical applications of service robots is security work for office buildings, commercial facilities, etc. Robots equipped with IoT sensors and cameras autonomously guard the building and detect suspicious movements and abnormalities. Among these, security robots are particularly good at patrolling within facilities and monitoring (sentry) at specific locations. For example, one office building had six security guards guarding 20 floors. However, there is a case in which the introduction of four security robots automated patrolling and monitoring, cutting the number of security guards in half to three.
Example of cleaning robot
Cleaning robots are service robots that are increasingly being introduced in public facilities, commercial facilities, medical facilities, restaurants, etc. It can not only clean floors, walls, windows, etc., but also sterilize them. Since robots automatically run and clean the facility, there is less unevenness in quality, and it is also possible to clean and sterilize places that humans cannot reach or dangerous areas. Coupled with the renewed recognition of the importance of disinfection and sterilization due to the spread of the new coronavirus, the number of cases in which robots are responsible for cleaning and sterilization work is increasing.
Utilization of robots in the office and future prospects
Service robots are a technology that is attracting attention in various fields, but their current scope of use is extremely limited, such as cleaning, security, reception, and guidance. However, information and communication technology is developing rapidly, and as AI and IoT become more sophisticated, the scope of its use is expected to expand, including improving the efficiency of backyard operations and managing the performance of human resources.
For example, service robots could be used to manage employee health to help maximize performance, or to support communication by translating and summarizing languages. In the future, it will become an intermediate platform that connects the office environment and online environment, and may become an indispensable solution for building a digital workplace.
Summary
Service robots are robots whose purpose is to improve the quality of life and services. The introduction of service robots reduces the work load on human resources, providing benefits such as “reducing personnel costs,” “improving customer satisfaction,” and “resolving human resource shortages.” It continues to attract a lot of attention as a technology that will be used in a variety of office environments.