This article was taken from the November 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Meet the 21st century's answer to the bell-hop: the Yobot.
Officially known as a "service ambassador", it is the centrepiece of the new Yobot in Times Square, New York, the first city-centre outlet from the capsule hotel-room provider.
The 4.5-metre robotic arm picks up customers' luggage and gently places it in one of 133 storage lockers in the lobby. Guests place their bag on a platform, pay $2 (£1.22), take their ticket, and watch Yobot perform its twisting, bending ritual. When they want their bags back, they simply insert the ticket, and Yobot retrieves their belongings.
The design is based on machines working on factory assembly lines. "It's not what the robot is doing," says designer John Phelps."It's having a new operator come in without any pre-training and be able to make it do what it does. We have a new operator coming in every minute."
Yotel has been keen to stress that machines won't be taking over all duties in the hotel, and that there are plenty of human staff on hand. For now. yotel.com
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
