By Jon Moskin
A new team member will be coming to our San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living. And this aide is unlike any other we have ever had: Incredibly smart, resourceful, energetic, works for free, doesn’t take breaks, and has almost every quality one would look for in a colleague and friend except for two things: a pulse and a name.
That’s right. It is a robot. And it is going to make the lives of our residents and staff a whole lot easier.
Our, as yet, nameless robot will work primarily in the dining room but will be available to assist across the campus as needed. It is “designed to support, not replace, human staff,” said Dennis Choe, Director of Dining Services at the Frank Residences, noting how our new robot, created by Bear Robotics, will “streamline repetitive tasks… allowing team members to focus more on resident interaction and service quality.” Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, Dennis added that it will ease staff workload, especially during high-volume periods, by minimizing the weight and number of physical trips for our dining service team members, as it can carry multiple items at once with the capability to bus dirty dishes, glasses and silverware and deliver plated meals for typical meal service as well as catered events.
And the technology our robot utilizes is astonishing, even by Bay Area standards: LIDAR sensors, cameras, and pre-programmed mapping enable it to navigate the dining areas, avoid obstacles, and reroute itself in real-time. Furthermore, with its movement-detecting sensors, it will be completely safe around residents, including those who use walkers, wheelchairs, or have cognitive impairments.
Of course, it will also be a lot of fun to see around campus. “It has a wowfactor,” Dennis said. And while our robot does not require residents to interact with it directly, it might be hard for some of us to resist. With its warm lights and friendly sounds, it will undoubtedly elicit its fair share of second glances and curious smiles.
While the immediate plan is to utilize our robot exclusively in dining services, its customizable programming will allow it to eventually serve our community across the campus in areas ranging from Memory Care to Rehab Services to Skilled Nursing.
But with all its virtues, from its versatility to its inexhaustibility, our robot desperately needs a personal identity. And that is where our campus community comes in. Dennis will collaborate with residents and staff to give our new robot friend a name. In fact, the team is taking suggestions from residents now.