PRE2020 3 Group3

Group 3: Marvin, Isidoros, Lotte

To analyze and plan the introduction of service robotics

Problem statements

1. Design a specific situation where robots make it possible to open up Horeca that is hygienic enough to be able to open up during a pandemic. Robots will minimize the customer-staff proximity in the horeca.

2. Look at existing server robots in restaurants and try to improve their customer friendliness by improving their interaction with people and modifying their appearance. Mostly look at server robots, not the ones in the kitchen. Analyze which properties the robots should have.

3. Design a robot that helps people with a disability (or people that are forced to isolate due to medical reasons) to do work in a restaurant by letting them remotely controlling robots that walk around in the restaurant. People who have trouble finding work because they have to stay at home or can’t do much physical work can still find work in this way. This will also make sure the robots can be perceived friendlier by the customers because a real human being is talking to them instead of a computer. The restaurant has robots that walk around and serve the food, the person who is controlling the robot remotely can either be integrated into the robot or be a simulation on each table. These simulation robots then work together with the serving robots.

Objectives

1. Describe a complete situation that would allow most Horeca establishments to open with the help of robots. Simulate this situation to check if the situation will work in real life. Also give the functions and properties the robot should have.

2. Conduct a research about the appearance and behavior a robot should have to come off as friendly as possible. The main part of the research will be about the interaction between the robot and the customers. In the end, recommendations will be given on what the most important parts are for a robot to be perceived as friendly. We are going to look into what the most plausible way of interaction is for the customer; screen interface, face to face interaction etc?

3. Describe a situation where it is possible for people to remotely control the robots in a restaurant. Also design the interface of this robot and how everything should work. We will not only work on the robot itself but also make sure that it interacts well with its environment and that the whole restaurant works well.

Users/Society/Enterprise

Restaurant owners: put robots in their establishments to allow their places to open Customers: will receive a better and or different dining experience or even allow dining which is not the case in pandemic times. People with a disability and people that have to isolate due to medical reasons: they now have an opportunity to work and keep busy Horeca workers like chefs: will be able to work again

What do they require, what are their needs?

Guests: the need to eat together en in a friendly and safe (COVID-proof) environment Employers: can give new people a chance to work in their restaurant, can out some of their employees to work again during corona. Other restaurant employees: Robots need to be easy to work with. They can finally work again in corona times. Customers Managing: checking available table(s) and the amount of seats on it and linking the waiting persons