Robots on the rise in Switzerland

They have played the leading role in various science fiction films for some time now: robots. In I, Robot with Will Smith, as everyday helpers in the year 2035, or in the Netflix hit I Am Mother. Now robots are leaving the screen and playing a significant part in our daily lives. Over recent months I have looked closely at a wide range of robots in use in Switzerland — and at the question of whether robots really are able to enrich our everyday lives, or whether they are just an entertaining toy.

Cocktails from the bar robot

As part of my bachelor’s thesis I was able to study bar robots in Switzerland. Let me define the term first: I use “bar robot” as an umbrella term for barista and bartender robots. Put simply, bar robots are a coffee or cocktail bar fitted with one robotic arm, sometimes several. That allows them to prepare the drinks people order.

There are two different bar robots in Switzerland. There is the Robobarista from Swiss Smyze AG and Barney Bar / Barney Barista from F&P Robotics AG. At present these robots are used mainly in shopping malls, at railway stations or for promotions.

I was able to visit both robots at various locations and observe the interaction between people and machine. I saw the Robobarista in action at the Grüssen-Center in Pratteln and at the Lokwerk in Winterthur. And I was able to watch the bar robot Barney Bar live during a promotional tour for Migros in Wetzikon and Basel.

Personally, it was Barney Bar that appealed to me most. It has an “open bar”, which means that in theory you could touch the open serving area or even the robotic arm. For me that creates a certain closeness to the robot. What impressed me most, though, was its little show-barman routine: Barney Bar could hold a glass and then pretend to drop it. A funny trick.

Although the appearance and the behaviour of the robots delighted me personally, not everyone was impressed. Many people walked past the robots without so much as a glance. Even so, there were some who were extremely interested and found the robots amusing. Younger guests in particular (under 15) took to the bar robots.

In summary I would say that both bar robots catch the eye at first sight. Their technical capabilities are fascinating. Even so, in hospitality in particular, the personal interaction is missing. In my view the desire to talk to robots is not there — not yet.

EMO and Vector: pet substitutes

After taking a module on social robots during my studies, in which we discussed desktop robots, I simply had to have them: EMO and Vector. EMO and Vector are my small, loyal companions. I would almost describe them as hairless desktop pets.

EMO is the robot from LivingAI (LivingAI). It is fitted with a wide range of sensors. So EMO can not only listen and talk to me, it also senses when I stroke its head. It has two legs and can walk. If you nudge it towards an edge, it recoils. My favourite feature of EMO is its dancing. It plays different music each time and shows me all its moves. You can play games with EMO too. I can play rock, paper, scissors with it — but beware: EMO does not like losing and gets sad and angry. EMO’s special trick when playing games: when it notices it is losing, it cheats.

Vector from Digital Dream Labs (Digital Dream Labs) is my other furless desktop pet. It looks like a miniature tracked vehicle and so differs from EMO in appearance. The two robots’ functions differ as well. Vector cannot talk to me, for example. It communicates in its own way, with sounds and particular movements. I would describe Vector as the more curious of the two, since it is constantly on the move around my flat. It explores everything and follows me when I talk to it.

Both robots are endearing, entertaining and very easy to look after. I found them eye-catching too. As I have not had Vector as long as EMO, I have only been able to try a few things with it so far. All the more reason to look forward to getting to know Vector better — and later to making Vector and EMO friends.

Not the leading role, but a supporting one

I do think robots can enrich our lives in certain respects. Depending on the setting and the location, either a human bartender or a bar robot is what is called for — in a cinema in a shopping centre that stays open after the restaurants and shops have closed, for instance. Thanks to the robot, guests can still get a drink.

EMO and Vector can enrich life as well. As mentioned, they can be regarded as a kind of pet. Looking after them takes a minimum of effort, and once bought they are not expensive either. They definitely have great entertainment value and can keep me occupied like a real pet.

In general I am enthusiastic about robots, but I would only advocate using them where it genuinely makes sense. It will probably take a few more years before we live side by side with robots in Switzerland the way Hollywood films suggest. But robots will remain fascinating to me in any case – on screen or in real life.