Nov 11, 2022

November 11, 2022 If a robot can work tirelessly in manufacturing, why can’t it also work in hospitality? Yours he serves cocktails to guests with unparalleled speed, while never losing his patience or enthusiasm even for a moment during the shift. Easy to transport, fast, easy to charge and even able to continuously work independently without interruption – Yanu, the artificial intelligence autonomous bartender in addition to service and payment, you can also interact with your guests via a chatbot, whom you recognize and even remember their favorite drinks. Although it is not at all common for a robot to serve people who want to have fun or attend an elegant business event, the solution is already on the horizon. Based on his years of experience in the hospitality industry, Alan Adojaan decided that it was time to take service to a new level. He observed that the staff working in his bar could not handle the many orders on a weekend evening, so many customers left disappointed immediately after arriving, while the staff had little to do on weekdays due to the smaller traffic. In 2016, he decided to look for a solution that would reduce fixed costs, such as staff wages, while also guaranteeing accurate and fast service to guests. Despite the fact that at first even Tallinn University did not see the potential in his idea, Alan Adojaan designed Yanu by 2020 with some engineers experienced in artificial intelligence and the design of autonomous technical systems. The first prototype proved itself already that year: even if it wasn’t perfect, it showed those interested that robotic service is not only accurate, but also special, exciting and extremely fast. But not only is the product so unique and modern in every respect: according to Alan Adojaan, in order to implement such an ambitious idea, they also had to strive for the maximum in terms of the development environment. In 2019, they committed to Siemens’ design infrastructure to ensure that the entire process is transparent and stable. Siemens Solid Edge has created a solid foundation for design. The engineers could work on the functions and the external appearance at the same time, they could design all the parts in the same software environment, thus they were able to avoid having to face the previously experienced fit errors again. Not only were they able to design the mechanical components and design with the program, but they also performed the electrical design here, and they also had the opportunity to test their ideas in the simulation environment and create animations and 3D visualization of the current development status in real time. The engineers thus had the opportunity to deal with the entire project and the smallest details in the software at the same time. The Yanu thus approximately two and a half times could be brought to market faster than if they were working with multiple software products in a more complicated design structure. By using the software, a completely streamlined development process was created, so two new prototypes were built in just 7 months compared to the initial 18 months. Yanu, an Estonian startup robot developed with the help of Siemens, is easy to transport, and its installation is simple, and can be completed in a fraction of the time compared to other similar systems. It can communicate with guests, and thanks to cloud-based technologies, maintenance information can be accessed remotely. In this way, it is possible to continuously monitor its operation, which has significantly accelerated since the first attempts. Today, it makes up to 100 drinks in an hour and can fill 1,200 glasses. It can store enough stock for 1,000 or even 1,500 cocktails with a single refill. You never get tired, and if you do get stuck on something, you can intervene through the monitoring platform before the service is interrupted. With the robot, card and mobile payments are also possible. Alan Adojaan and his team are planning their solution for busy places like airports, casinos, hotel bars – so don’t be surprised if you stumble upon Yanu soon. Related to the topic, we recommend the article from Műszaki Magazin: Siemens metaverse: Virtual world – Sci-fi come true: the metaverse is already knocking at BMW in Debrecen. Siemens’ first industrial metaverse is realized in Hungary.