Summary/Reader's Reponse Draft 3

 


The article “How tech can ease the cleaning industry’s manpower crunch” (GERMii, 2021) introduces SoftBank Robotics’ “AI – powered commercial floorcare cleaning robot, Whiz”. According to the article (GERMii, 2021), Whiz vacuums without external help so that cleaners can prioritize on “human – centric tasks”. It also steers clear of obstacles automatically and provides operators “real – time data and alerts”, allowing them to enjoy serenity with minimum supervision (GERMii, 2021). With an award winning BrainOS navigation software, all it takes is a one-time setup from the user and Whiz will remember the route (Jacky's, 2022). The built-in sensors and cliff detectors also ensure it avoids obstacles with ease. Whiz also has an effective cleaning system. It can thoroughly clean and cover a carpet area of 500m². With the help of the high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, it allows it to “capture 99.97% of PM2.5 particles including pollen and dust” (Jacky's, 2022). According to (Jacky's, 2022), users will also be able to obtain “real time information” such as alerts, device status and analysis report from the pager provided or via the Whiz connect web application. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the robot can last up to 3 hours with a single charge. Even though the batteries are not optimum, Whiz is able to uphold the cleaning efficiency due to its cleaning capacity, operating and built-in safety system.

Tasks such as vacuum cleaning and mopping are time-consuming and mundane. However, they are essential to maintain the strict requirements of cleanliness. With a cleaning capacity of 4L and maximum running time of 3 hours, Whiz will be able to perform these duties effectively instead of the cleaning staff.  It will cover an area of 500m2/hour, which will be more than what the cleaning staff can cover. Working together with the HEPA filter, Whiz can trap the dirty particles in the air such as pollen and dust, giving the environment cleaner air. Meanwhile, the cleaning staff will have more time to concentrate on more important tasks, such as “sterilising high-touch, high-risk, or difficult-to-clean areas” (GERMii, 2021)i.e., elevator buttons, bathrooms and desks. According to SoftBank Robotics (SoftBank Robotics Team, 2020), the cleaning industry has limited resources such as manpower to carry out their daily jobs. Whiz will be able to tackle that issue due to it being able to “offload up to 30% of cleaning time traditionally spent vacuuming manually” (SoftBank Robotics Team, 2020).

The operating and built-in safety system of Whiz also upholds the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning industry. Firstly, the “analysis reports about cleaning status” (Jacky's, 2022) gives managers a deeper understanding of the cleaning performance. This allows the cleaning company to “increase efficiency, reduce expenses and identify areas for improvement”. Secondly, with the help of the built-in safety features such as obstacle detection, fall prevention (LIDAR sensor, 3D camera) and impact detection, Whiz steers clear of obstacles and human traffic. Pairing the operating system with the built-in safety features, Whiz will determine the best route to take while avoiding obstacles.

However, there is still room for improvement for Whiz to serve the industry better. The batteries can definitely be improved. One standard charge allows Whiz to last up to 3 hours, or 1.5 hours in power mode. Comparing that to other commercial cleaning robots such as Avidbots Neo2, Neo2 is able to last up to 6 hours (Avidbots, 2022). Whiz can adopt better batteries so that it can work longer. There are limitations to using an AI robot as well. As Whiz is an AI robot, it will not be able to have dynamic thinking. It is only programmed to do certain duties and will not do anything that is not instructed to do. On the other hand, cleaning staff can think critically and adapt to any situations they might face.

Even with the disadvantages and limitations mentioned, implementing the use of Whiz is still beneficial to the cleaning industry due to other features such as the cleaning capacity, operating and built-in safety system. Whiz will surely make a positive impact on the industry if they decide to use it.

 

 

 

References

Avidbots. (2022). Neo 2 Cylindrical Cleaning Head Technical Specifications. https://avidbots.com/assets/Knowledge/Neo_2.0_Cylindrical_Cleaning_Head_Technical_Specifications_Brochure_Final_compressed_10-21.pdf

Coway. (2022). Hepa standards explained.
https://cowaymega.com/blogs/blog/what-is-a-hepa-filter

GERMii. (2021, June 1). How tech can ease the cleaning industry's manpower crunch. https://govinsider.asia/future-of-work/how-tech-can-ease-the-cleaning-industrys-manpower-crunch-robots-germii/

Jacky's. (2022). Whiz - A commercial dry Vacuum cleaning Robot.
https://www.jackys.com/business-solutions/education/whiz-vacuum-robot/67

SoftBank Robotics Team. (2020, April 14). 3 Ways Humans & Commercial Cleaning Robots Work in the New Normal.
 https://us.softbankrobotics.com/blog/3-ways-humans-and-robots-collaborate-in-commercial-cleanings-new-normal

 

 

 

 

 

 

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