Singapore's StarHub and ST Kinetics jointly announced a partnership to deploy Aethon TUG robots on an as-a-Service business model.
TUG, an autonomous delivery robot designed to transport materials of up to 635 kg per trip, is the flagship product of Aethon, a US-based robot maker belonging to ST Engineering’s land systems business.
For a start, the TUG robots will be deployed in three hotels to streamline the laundry supply chain, reducing a seven-step manual process to a three-step automated one.
Its managed robotics service also includes integration of the robots into existing systems to create seamless workflows as well as the provision of 24/7 technical support and maintenance services. In addition, data captured by the robots, such as customer preferences or inventory level can be used by the customers to improve operations.
TUG is the second robotics solution that StarHub has introduced to enable corporate customers such as hotels, to manage repetitive or tedious tasks efficiently. TUG is integrated with a customer’s Wi-Fi infrastructure, and elevator and IT systems, enabling it to navigate autonomously on premises including opening doors as well as calling and riding elevators. As a result, service personnel are freed up to focus on their core tasks. In addition, the robots will help to alleviate the manpower crunch faced by many hotels. The robots can be used to deliver items such as clean linen or dirty laundry, plying between the laundry room, central storeroom and guest floor storerooms.
Dr Chong Yoke Sin, Chief of Enterprise Business Group, StarHub
The partnership with ST Kinetics on robotics is part of StarHub’s Connected Building initiative to provide Internet of Things (IoT) solutions that help companies implement green, productivity or safety concepts in business environments.
Tan Peng Kuan, EVP, Singapore Business, ST Kinetics
We are excited to collaborate with StarHub, our go-to-market partner, to offer hotels a superior robotics solution that directly addresses their business needs and improves the efficiency of their operations.
