your lemon pepper wings via delivery bots, you may wonder: Are robots coming for your job? The short answer is: Maybe. Money can drive robot adoption, Kane says. Financial uncertainty, rising inflation and labor shortages following the pandemic all have fueled moves to bring robots up to speed. “That’s what we’re seeing in some of the robotics being (bought) in the U.S.: Bottom line-centric thinking where can we save money,” he says. Kane adds that robots are ultimately doing mainly menial work. That could mean fewer human workers in certain roles. “Robots do the three Ds: the dirty, the dangerous and the dull jobs,” he says. “Even with my robots, we need humans to fix it, maintain it, to clean it, to update it. Even the serving robot you see, you need someone to put the food on it. I need someone to charge it. I need someone to replace the wheels. If it comes down to it, if you have a company with 100 people, tech- nically I’m probably getting rid of your worst part-time employees. But, no, I’m not reinventing the workflow.” Amor says such fears are a natural reac- tion to robots. “It’s sort of the fears of the population,” Amor says. “These cars will take over already crowded streets or reduce the number of Uber drivers. But again, here in Arizona, I think so far the perception has been mostly a positive one that these services are not yet to a point where they are invading or really providing major risks.” Cute is what we aim for Amor says many of the service robots that have emerged in the Valley in recent years are of a cute or personable nature to help be embraced more easily by users. “They want them to be accepted,” he says.” When you summon a Waymo, you’re actually stepping into a white Jaguar I-PACE tricked out with tech. You feel like a sleek, cool future includes you. The success of these early forays into Valley robot tech portends more ahead, Amor says. “There’s major investment in the area, and ASU has become a hub attracting more companies,” he says. “What started with just Waymo and Uber has grown to include eight or nine types of service robots on streets, in restaurants and delivering pack- ages. If that trend continues, we’ll be seeing a lot more of them around.” The future is now. If you’re in the Valley, you have perhaps the best chance of anyone in the hemisphere to encounter a robot on your daily rounds. Here are the robots you’re likely to find in the wild. Cleaning robots Custodial robots are already hard at work all over the Valley — you’re just not likely to catch them in action. Devices like the CC1, a mobile mopping bot made by China- based Pudu, typically do their dirty work after hours or out of sight in warehouses and industrial buildings. So while they’re definitely on the job, they’re keeping a low profile — and a shiny floor. “It’s kind of like those Roombas you have at home,” Kane says. “Our robots are just a little more sophisticated and can do an entire building, warehouse or apart- ment complex. They dump the water. They fill themselves.” They’re also dealing with the mess you left at the park. “Cleaning robots are sweeping up pick- leball courts now,” Kane says. “But again, these are during overnights. You go there (during the day), it will just be sitting in a corner.” Kane says the growing use of robots in custodial work is due to companies dealing with staffing issues and labor shortages. He says some jobs may be lost, but sees an opportunity for humans to better themselves. “Humans are smarter than pushing brooms and mops and riding floor scrub- bers,” Kane says. He doesn’t expect robots to fully supplant human cleaners. “It’s hard to predict because everything is constantly changing. But this world is built for humans,” Kane says. “There’s a lot of stairs and robots can’t go upstairs smoothly unless it’s one of those four- legged things.” STARSHIP TECHNOLOGIES FOOD-DELIVERY ROBOTS During the darkest days of the pandemic, Arizona State University’s Tempe campus was invaded by robots. In 2020, a fleet of 40 autonomous food-delivery drones from San Francisco’s Starship Technologies began bringing meals from on-campus eateries straight to students’ doorsteps. The six-wheeled robots quickly became a campus favorite. They made social distancing easier during peak COVID, they were convenient and they brought a dose of whimsy to pandemic doldrums. The microbus-shaped bots were downright adorable. That charm, says Amor, helped the campus warm to them. “They look like little Volkswagens,” he says. “Most of the time when I’ve seen people interact with them, they think they’re cute.” Until it wasn’t. In 2024, a Starship robot suddenly reversed outside a campus parking garage and collided with an ASU employee, sending her to the ground and causing a 4-inch cut on her arm and lower back trauma, before attempting to hit her again. The company reached out to provide insurance info and promo codes (because nothing says “sorry” like a free sandwich). They later told the media the robot had detected an oncoming vehicle. BellaBoT The internet loves cats — lways has, always will. So it’s no surprise this feline-inspired restaurant droid manufactured by China’s Pudu Robotics started popping up on social media after debuting at Valley eateries in recent years. With its kawaii-style animated face, purring sounds and the unshakable confi- dence of a cat that owns the room, the BellaBoT brings the charm. Patrons can even scratch behind its ears to trigger a positive reaction from the bot. Described as a “Roomba with shelves,” the column-shaped robot cruises around local spots delivering plates at eateries including Thai Recipe Bistro, Mesa’s Sizzling House and all three Kura Revolving Sushi Bar locations. Kane says it’s best suited for fast-casual restaurants or businesses dealing with staff shortages, but that hasn’t stopped local bar owners from wanting one just for the novelty. “Some of the bars were like, ‘Bring one over to my place for St. Patrick’s Day, we’ll trick it out in all this green stuff.’ It’s not really for that,” Kane says. “It’s for the days when (employees) don’t show up, and they need this thing to send out food and come back. If you’re already killing it with big crowds, you don’t need a robotic server. It can’t really get around all those people.” KettyBoT Pudu’s KettyBoT is basically a rolling bill- board with a side hustle as a restaurant and event host. The tall automaton is equipped with a giant touchscreen that can display ads or greetings, or just silently judge your formalwear choices. “It’s more of a hosting (bot). You follow it to your table, it spins around, you get the silverware and it goes back to the hostess stand,” Kane says. “It couldn’t even deliver food to a four-top.” You can also spot it at more upscale establishments around town, and it serves the upwardly mobile at high-falutin fund- raisers and soirees. “When there’s big events in ballrooms, we bring it,” Kane says. “We had it at a fundraiser with the ALS (Foundation) in Scottsdale filled with waters and beers and ran around the lobby the whole night.” Amazon Prime Air drones At this point, if a human can do it, Amazon’s figuring out how a robot can do it faster — and without needing a piss bottle. The company’s fulfillment centers, including all 17 in the Valley, buzz with bots that assist with sorting, lifting and moving packages. And as of last month, Amazon’s Prime Air drones are back in action, hauling parcels and late-night impulse buys across the West Valley skies. In January, its autonomous MK30 fleet was briefly grounded due to a few crashes and technical hiccups, but are again zipping around a 10-mile radius of the Tolleson fulfillment center. Picture futur- istic carrier pigeons — only with GPS, spin- ning rotors and a talent for dropping dog food weighing 5 pounds or less on your porch in under 30 minutes. Not everyone’s sold on the service. As one West Valley resident told KTVK-TV Channel 3 earlier this year, “What if it hit a cat or a pet, or even landed on your car?” Fair point. Parker Don’t let its resemblance to an oversized sex toy fool you. Parker, the Knightscope K5 autonomous outdoor security robot, is all business. Standing 5-foot-3 and clocking in at 300 pounds, this glossy white automaton roams Park Central with purpose. Armed with cameras, thermal imaging, sonar, lidar, license plate recog- nition and other surveillance gear, Parker maintains ’round-the-clock vigilance of the sprawling property. First introduced in 2021 by Transcend Security Solutions, which is contracted to patrol the mixed-use development and former midtown Phoenix mall, the robo rent-a-cop doesn’t take coffee breaks or naps. It just rolls along, scans everything in sight and quietly watches your question- able parking job. Bill Cook, a senior vice president with property owner Plaza Companies, says the robot has been a hit with Park Central’s tenants and visitors. “People love Parker,” he says. “They’ve taken selfies with it because they’re so intrigued.” Parker hasn’t been abused over the past four years, at least IRL. As for online? Not so much. Shortly after its debut, Parker was promptly roasted on the Phoenix subreddit with users calling it “Supposit-o-tron 9000” or comparing it to the killer security robots in the 1986 slasher film “Chopping Mall.” Uncanny Valley from p 11 >> p 14 The BellaBoT serving robot at Thai Recipe Bistro in Phoenix. (Benjamin Leatherman)
