Meet the Newest Member of the Kaplan Estates Food Service Team

There’s a new face in the Kaplan dining room. Servi, an electronic food service robot, is helping to lighten the load for our hardworking dining team!

The three-tiered food runner makes trips to and from the kitchen to deliver food and bus tables, allowing employees to remain with residents in the dining area. Currently we are testing Servi and, if successful, we will use more robots in our dining rooms on other campuses. The versatile robot, who can hold up to 66 pounds, has an eight-to 12-hour battery life. Servi travels approximately one mile per dinner service and is capable of making 20 deliveries per night.

“Utilizing this new technology enables us to devote valuable staff time to caring for our residents,” said Andrea Hillel, Executive Director of Kaplan Estates. “We are using technology to supplement the more mundane parts of dining service, while keeping our hands and hearts tableside with our residents.”  In effect, Servi will facilitate better meal service with less hands on deck, thereby providing a higher quality of service and enhancing the overall dining experience for our residents.”

Loaded with innovative technology, Servi was designed to be safe, quiet, and as washable as possible. The compact size of the robot means he/she never gets in the way. Today Servi is being used in US restaurants as well as in a handful of assisted living residences across the country.

“We are excited to have Servi on our campus,” remarked Hillel. “Although he/she he is currently acting in more of a ‘supporting” role, there is definitely potential to expand the job description.” Added Andrea, “Servi is attentive, efficient, and friendly; the robot fits perfectly into our community.”

In addition to bussing tables, Servi possesses many other talents, such as greeting guests as they arrive in the dining room using a warm voice and pleasing gestures. Servi can also be loaded up on one of her two top platforms to deliver food to the table, navigate to the selected table, carefully avoiding people and obstacles along the way. At the end of the meal, Servi can return to the table to remove the dishes. For Servi and CJL, the path seems remarkably clear!