Using Otis Integrated Dispatch™ technology, the robot is able to call the elevator, select its destination, and efficiently enter and exit the car – all without the need for human interaction
Using its Otis Integrated Dispatch technology, Nippon Otis Elevator Company, in collaboration with robotics provider AIM Technologies, has integrated its elevators with robots via the cloud as part of a pilot project at Hotel Keihan Universal Tower, in Osaka, Japan. Nippon Otis Elevator Company is the Japanese subsidiary of Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: OTIS), the world’s leading company for elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation, and service.
Hotel Keihan Universal Tower receives approximately 40 to 50 delivery service requests to guest rooms on a busy day. To reduce the time spent by concierge team members in making deliveries, the hotel decided to trial AIM Technology’s robots, which can deliver goods in place of employees. Jointly, Nippon Otis and AIM Technologies integrated the elevators and robots using Otis Integrated Dispatch technology, which enables the robots to interact with hotel elevators via the cloud. This allows the robots to call the elevators, select their destination, efficiently enter and exit the car, and deliver the goods to guests without the need for human interaction.
“We are honored to be able to contribute to improving customer service and employee productivity at Hotel Keihan Universal Tower,” said Thibault Lefebure, President, Nippon Otis. “We will continue our research and development efforts in integrating elevators and robots in pursuit of a more seamless experience within buildings for people and robots alike.”
Otis Integrated Dispatch technology is an API (Application Programming Interface) that is designed to integrate with most autonomous service robots. This API approach enables the robots to interface seamlessly with the elevators via the cloud or a local connection, and is more flexible and scalable than traditional hard-wired integrations. The Otis Integrated Dispatch system works at the elevator group or bank level, allowing more flexibility to add robots, including different robot models from various providers, and increasing efficiency by having multiple elevators available for the robot to use.
The Otis Integrated Dispatch protocol is based on the Robot-Elevator Linkage Interface Definition RRI standard. This is one of the standards developed by the Robot Revolution and Industrial IoT Initiative Council (RRI), which was established by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2019 as one of the initiatives of the Robotics for Social Transformation Promotion Plan.