'It changed the whole ambience': Covenant Living of Northbrook uses robot server in dining room

Imagine. An employee who never calls in sick, never has car problems, and works for $3 an hour.

That's Servi - standing 41 inches tall, 17 inches in circumference, and made by Bear Robotics of California.

The amused residents of Covenant Living of Northbrook know their robot server as "Robbie." Since last July, Robbie has been a server assistant in the senior living community's main dining room and bistro.

Through Sunday, Robbie, who also buses tables without complaint, had made 3,292 deliveries and covered 102.55 miles over 113.5 hours.

"It's a pretty nice thing to have. It changed the whole ambience of the dining," said Victor Soriano, Covenant Living's dining director. "It's interesting, the residents and employees react to the robot now. Originally, the employees saw the robot coming from the kitchen and they moved to one side to let (it) pass by. It's like another part of the dining room now."

The robot's use was borne of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early phases, when less was known about the virus, the concern was over high-touch areas and communal spaces, said Covenant Living Vice President Christopher Blair.

Blair, who is in charge of dining operations for Covenant Living's 19 locations in 10 states, piloted the Servi at Covenant locations in Cromwell, Connecticut, and Northbrook, near national headquarters in Skokie.

Once COVID was discovered to be an airborne illness the pressing issue became one of staffing, which continues still.

"Many in the hospitality industry chose to go into other vocations," Blair said. "What we found is that it became increasingly difficult to attract and retain people in the hospitality industry as servers in our dining rooms. The robot became an attractive option for us to fill any service gaps that might exist."

Northbrook's Robbie resembles a tall step stool with three shelves that can be outfitted with trays to deliver food to tables, or tubs to bring dirty dishes back to the kitchen. People still are needed to load and unload it.

Using a touch screen, it can be programmed in a variety of ways, depending on what functionality is desired. It can make a loop with intermittent stops, or can be directed to visit a specific location or table.

Rolling on four caster-like wheels, it uses cameras and sensors to "see" where it's going and avoid bumping into things, like people.

"I was talking with someone, looking one way in the bistro, and it headed my way and came right up to me," said Covenant Living resident Bob Martin, who with his wife, Carrie, has lived in Northbrook 55 years. "It stopped right next to me, no trouble. And I stepped aside and it went on its way. The first couple times that (residents) experience it, you get a start, like, 'Wait a minute.' Now it's just there, part of the woodwork, so to speak."

There are a few limitations. The robot can sing "Happy Birthday to You," but can't open doors, navigate stairs or elevators, or handle thresholds, such as those leading to an outdoor patio. The maximum a food expediter can place onto it is seven plates. A four-hour charge gives Servi 12 hours of life.

If tables are rearranged, either the robot's "electronic map" would need to be reprogrammed or tables would have to be returned to the prior layout. Aisles must be clear of walkers and wheelchairs.

Blair said the cost of the robot translates to about $3 an hour. He called its use an "assist" to employees and allows a "team service approach." Elsewhere he's seen places where residents take meals off the trays, but Blair didn't want automation to eliminate personal interaction.

"We did not implement this in order to replace humans," Blair said. "We used it as a supplement to our teams in a period of time when staffing was critical. So it made our teams that were there all the more efficient and provided additional helping hands."

Can it replace humans?

"Probably," he said.

"The issue is not the number of cooks in the kitchen or preparing meals," said Martin, one of two residents on Covenant Living's national board of directors. "It's the aspect of getting it from kitchen to the residents' table where the robot comes in and affords the opportunity to keep a reasonable delivery time for the meal."

As Robbie makes its slow, steady, programmed path, one's thoughts turn to Rosie, the robotic maid in the once-popular cartoon "The Jetsons."

"It's not so far away from that one," Soriano said. "I'm sure they're cooking something up."