Define the single primary task
A robot that greets visitors, carries trays and disinfects corridors at once usually does none of them well. Pick the primary task, measure how often it happens per day, then evaluate secondary features.
Selection criteria that actually matter
These are the criteria that decide whether a deployment succeeds after the first month.
| Criterion | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Navigation | Lidar and vision fusion, dynamic obstacle handling | Crowded lobbies break simple line following |
| Payload and trays | Weight per tray and total load | Food, linen and lab samples differ widely |
| Battery and charging | Runtime per shift and auto-docking | Manual charging kills daily availability |
| Integration | Lift control, doors, ticketing or POS APIs | Multi-floor buildings need lift access |
| Language and voice | Arabic and English interaction quality | Front-of-house robots face the public |
The site survey before purchase
Measure the narrowest corridor and door width, note thresholds, ramps, glass walls and reflective floors, map lift access and Wi-Fi coverage, and record peak footfall hours. These five items decide most deployment problems in advance.
Operating model and staff acceptance
Assign one owner on site, train two operators, and agree what happens when the robot stops. Teams that treat the robot as a colleague with a defined role keep it running; teams that treat it as a demo park it in a corner.
Common questions
Do service robots work on marble or glossy floors?
Yes, provided the navigation stack uses lidar rather than floor-facing optical sensors alone; highly reflective surfaces should still be tested during the survey.
Can one robot serve several floors?
Only with a lift integration module; otherwise plan one robot per floor zone.