Connie – Hilton’s new robot
A new robot in the hospitality industry. Hilton Worldwide and IBM announced a collaboration to pilot ‘Connie’ – the first Watson-enabled robot concierge in the hospitality industry. Hilton’s new robot draws on domain knowledge from Watson and WayBlazer to inform guests on local tourist attractions, dining recommendations and hotel features and amenities.
Hilton’s new robot Connie
The name of the robot is Connie, named for Hilton’s founder Conrad Hilton. Connie will work side-by-side with Hilton’s Team Members to assist with visitor requests, personalize the guest experience and empower travellers with more information to help them plan their trips.
Unfortunately, the robot is currently only stationed near the reception of the Hilton McLean in Virginia. Connie is learning to interact with guests and respond to their questions in a friendly and informative way/manner. Before Connie was able to communicate, it had to take some ‘communication lessons’ at Watson. In combination with the extended travel information of WayBlazer’s, Connie is able to suggest local attractions outside the hotel.
The more guests interact with Connie, the more it learns, adapts and improves its recommendations. The hotel will also have access to a log of the questions asked and Connie’s answers, which can enable improvements to guest’ experiences before, during and after their stays.
Robots in the hospitality industry
The 23-inch (58-cm) robot is an off-the-shelf Nao machine from French manufacturer Aldebaran Robotics and is linked wirelessly to Watson in order to understand basic questions about the hotel. Thereby, it also links into travel info service WayBlazer to give details about local attractions and recommendations. There are no plans to replicate ‘Connie’ to any other Hilton property yet. So if you want to see a robot at work in Europe you will have to visit Ghent in Belgium. We spotted a ‘Mario’ a look-a-like at the Marriott Hotel last summer. Mario is a humanoid robot from Zorarobotics in Belgium.
Bron: Press Release Hilton
