(Ramsey, NJ) February 3, 2016 – Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. announced today that it has completed installations of Savioke’s hospitality robot, called Relay, at two hospitality properties.
Konica Minolta is leveraging existing assets and expertise to expand robotic service offerings.
The company provides onsite installation, maintenance and services for the Relay robot fleet. The initial installations at hotels in Los Angeles and Sunnyvale, CA demonstrated the successful navigation of the autonomous wheels platform throughout hotel floors and elevators, ensuring delivery of items to hotel guests. The company intends to further expand service offerings to offer 24/7 call center support, routine maintenance and other services.
“Our intention at Konica Minolta is to service and support innovative technologies by utilizing our team of over 2,000 highly skilled engineers,” says Kevin Kern, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc.
Relay is a state-of-the-art robot designed for autonomous delivery of items between people. Its first application is in the hospitality industry, already delivering items and delighting guests at U.S. hotels. Relay delivers snacks and amenities to hotel guests, enabling hotel staff to focus on other guests’ needs. With successful deployments in the U.S., Relay has a proven record of more than eleven thousand deliveries
“We have big ambitions for Savioke and to meet those goals we’re going to need some great partners,” according to Steve Cousins, CEO of Savioke. “While our early customers have been deliberately in our Silicon Valley backyard, our relationship with Konica Minolta allows us to confidently expand across the U.S. and beyond.”
A video of the Savioke Relay Robot in action is available here.
In 2014, Konica Minolta Inc. (KM) established Business Innovation Centers (BIC) in 5 major regions around the world (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, China and Japan) to vigorously drive transformation of its core Business Technologies business by expanding into new areas of Software and Services, creating new value to benefit and enable its customers in improving and innovating their business processes.
As an engine of growth for Konica Minolta, the BIC is partnered with and investing in a diverse range of start-up businesses in Silicon Valley and beyond to bring emerging and innovative solutions into Konica Minolta’s portfolio. Driving the disruptive transformations in the robotics industry is a strategic focus area of the BIC in North America.
