- Published
In hospitals across the US, patients and staff have become accustomed to seeing a one-armed, four-foot high, friendly-looking white robot going about its business.
Nurses have been known to greet Moxi, as the robot is called by its maker Diligent Robotics, with a "good morning", a high five or even a hug.
Moxi – which shuttles medical supplies around hospitals – might respond by displaying its heart-shaped LED eyes and a beep beep greeting of its own.
"We get a lot of feedback that Moxi feels like a part of the team," says Todd Brugger, chief operating officer at the Texas-based robotics company, which has around 100 of the wheeled robots in operation.
uncertain
which → publish → operation
But bringing Moxi into a hospital doesn't mean buying one of the machines outright.
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bringing → bring → machines
Instead, it is among robots available to rent or on a subscription basis.
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it → rent → basis
Robotics companies use the term robotics-as-a-service.
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companies → use → service
As well as the robot itself, service, maintenance and upgrades are bundled into the deal.
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service → bundle → deal
A human engineer sitting in a remote control room may be on hand to take control of the robot if needed.
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engineer → sit → robot
In Moxi's case, Brugger says: "It lowers the expense and the outlay for the hospital because you're not paying for the full purchase up front.
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you → say → front
Secondly, and I think more importantly, this tech is evolving very quickly… we're routinely evolving the software and capabilities of the robot."
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we → think → robot
Robot rentals are becoming available for anything from a day to years for a variety of purposes, from Moxi's hospital deliveries to robot bartenders or autonomous weeders for farms.
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rentals → become → farms
Increasingly this includes early humanoid models, designed to behave and look like humans, and operate in environments designed for people.
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this → include → people
Given humanoids are still a work-in-progress, they are currently rented out for clearly defined tasks.
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they → give → tasks
That often means entertainment.
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That → mean → entertainment
Depending on the model, a machine might dance, sing or serve guests at a wedding or corporate event.
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machine → depend → wedding
Ethan Qi, a Beijing-based associate director at Counterpoint Research, says an act like a humanoid dance routine is relatively simple to pull off.
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act → base → routine
"You hire a real dancer to perform and video it.
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You → hire → it
The video is then used to train the robot.
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video → use → robot
Then the robot will know how to dance.
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robot → know → ?
But the engineer will still often go with the robot in case the environment or the platform isn't simple," he says.
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he → go → robot
But ambitions for humanoid rentals go beyond the entertaining dance routines that are shared on social media, often in China.
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that → go → China
California-based 1X plans to start shipping its home helper robot NEO later this year.
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1X → base → robot
"Early access" customers in the US can either pay $20,000 (£15,000) outright for their own robot, or $499 (£378) per month on a subscription basis.
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customers → pay → basis
Dar Sleeper, vice president of product and design at the company, says: "While many customers will buy a NEO outright, a subscription significantly lowers the upfront cost, making it affordable for far more people."
Part of the appeal of a rental over an outright purchase is the speed at which robotics technology is improving.
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technology → say → which
If you splash out on a new humanoid now it is likely to soon be obsolete.
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it → splash → humanoid
Qi says: "Every year the robotics companies release a new model, a new iteration of the hardware.
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companies → say → hardware
If you own a robot, you can't trade it for a new one, but if you rent a robot, you can always rent the newest."
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you → own → newest
A rental also removes the need for deep technical expertise – you can simply take your problems to the manufacturer or rental platform.
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you → remove → manufacturer
Qi says: "It helps to solve technical problems because customers don't know how to code the robots."
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customers → say → robots
It's not just humanoids that are driving demand for robot rentals.
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that → drive → rentals
One company, Chicago-based Formic, has a fleet of more than 250 industrial robots operating on a robot-as-a-service basis.
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company → base → basis
"Everything is included," says Shawn Fitzgerald, chief revenue officer at Formic.
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Fitzgerald → include → Formic
"If the robot arm burns out, that's on us and we need to come bring you a new one."
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we → burn → one
He argues that Formic's flat monthly payment model "levels the playing field" for smaller companies that traditionally haven't been able to afford to buy factory robots outright.
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that → argue → robots
Formic is also currently testing humanoid robots for industrial uses.
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Formic → test → uses
Alongside flat rates, other robot rental payment schemes are emerging.
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schemes → emerge → rates
Marco Wang, an analyst at Interact Analysis, says that some companies have started requesting that rental fees be directly linked to how much human labour a robot can save them.
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robot → say → them
For robot manufacturers, alongside the revenues, a rental scheme offers a way to trial their products in real-world scenarios and gather helpful data in the process.
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scheme → offer → process
It's still immature," says Wang.
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Wang → say → ?
Some firms in China – the early leader in humanoids and home to a growing number of rental schemes – have leased their creations to work in hotels, a helpful training ground for future domestic use.
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firms → grow → use
Others offer them to rent on cleaning service apps.
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Others → offer → apps
Chinese firms have started offering rentals overseas, through partner businesses.
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firms → start → businesses
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
