I, Robot, but make it Singaporean

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Hello reader,

Most of the time when I visit home in Northern Ireland, it amazes me how little has changed about the place.

It often feels like stepping back in time to when I was in my early 20s when I last lived there, with the same people doing the same things in the same places. But one thing that seems to be different every time is the increasingly visible adoption of new technology.

On my last trip over Christmas 2023, it was a robot waiter in a cafe at Belfast International Airport that shocked me. The strange little device whirred about the busy cafe, bringing plates back and forth from the counter.

No one else seemed all that interested in the machine, which perhaps hints at how increasingly common it is to see this tech in some places. No wonder then that Singaporean companies are trying to capitalize on the expected growth of the service robotics industry, as today’s featured story explores.

Today we look at:

• Singapore seeking to carve out a niche in service robotics
• The US$53 million gross revenue of global micromobility firm Beam
• Other newsy highlights such as GoTo Group posting a loss of US$6.2 million in adjusted EBITDA in Q1, while fellow Indonesian player Bukalapak scores a profit of US$922,500.

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Robot at your service

Image credit: Timmy Loen

For years, robots in the workplace have typically been found on factory floors in environments where conditions are fixed and controlled.

That’s changing as service robots are expected to take an increasingly large position in the robotics market, and Singaporean companies are positioning themselves to cash in.

• Branching out: According to research from the International Federation of Robotics, Singapore had the second-highest industrial robot density in the world in 2022, with 730 robots for every 10,000 employees, mostly in manufacturing. This excellence in robotics has set the stage for companies in the sector to explore other areas, such as the service industry. One example is LionsBot, which has sold over 2,500 of its made-in-Singapore professional cleaning robots to buyers in 30 countries.
• Challenges remain: While there is optimism about the future of the service robotics industry, the tech’s effectiveness is still dependent on their physical environment and the willingness of companies to adopt the technology. William Dai, founder of robot distributor Ourglass Robotics, said that of 100 restaurants evaluating using robots, only one or two would pull the purchase trigger. Factors such as the layout of their restaurants, willingness to pay for the tech, as well as issues related to workflow, grants, and internal resistance would all be factors putting some off.
• AI’s role: As the industry develops, players are thinking more deeply about the intersection between real-world environments, hardware, and software. Robots from different manufacturers will need to communicate with each other, as well as with the tech in the various building facilities they are placed in. Players in the city-state are exploring the use of AI in tackling these challenges, but it may still be years before efficiency is reached.

Read more: Singapore companies ride global wave to build next-gen robots

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