LG Electronics USA Inc. this week unveiled a commercial-grade autonomous vacuum cleaner developed in conjunction with Marriott Design Lab. After piloting the product at Marriott International hotels, the LG Robot Vacuum is now available to the hospitality industry.
“This is a prime example of how our collaboration with Marriott Design Lab is driving innovation across the industry,” said Michael Khosla, senior vice president of LG Electronics USA.
“The LG Robot Vacuum is a powerful, user-friendly vacuum cleaning solution that hotel staff can operate to provide optimal autonomous vacuum cleaning of hallway and meeting space floors,” he said. “As demand for commercial robotic vacuums and other innovative products continues to grow, we look forward to working with Marriott Design Lab to bring a range of innovative products to market.”
LG Electronics, headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics Inc., a $68 billion global technology and manufacturing developer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. In the United States, LG sells a variety of home appliances, entertainment products, commercial displays, air conditioning systems and automotive parts.
LG says it designed the vacuum’s powerful suction to meet the needs of commercial environments such as hotels and resorts. The robot is ideal for cleaning wide areas such as banquet spaces and guestroom corridors at night, minimizing disruption to guests. But it can also handle smaller spaces such as hallways and meeting spaces without getting stuck.
The system is equipped with lidar, vision and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) sensor fusion technologies to accurately measure distances even in difficult-to-navigate environments. The LG robot vacuum provides cleaning services based on maps tailored to each hotel. Its 3-liter (0.7-gallon) capacity dustbin handles larger debris such as paper scraps using two cleaning methods: vacuuming and sweeping.
The robot comes with a multilingual mobile app and a cloud-based management platform. These allow real-time access to cleaning progress, battery level, location and other data points.
The system allows hoteliers to efficiently manage multiple units in a building simultaneously. It also generates statistics based on cleaning history, providing enhanced operational insights.
“The LG Robot Vacuum is the result of a collaboration between Marriott Design Lab and LG as we work together to reinvent hotel operations. By co-developing and testing new technologies and solutions, we aim to help hotel associates work smarter and bring innovations to market for the benefit of the entire hospitality industry,” said Robert Guidice, Chief Global Operating Officer, Marriott International.
The Marriott Design Lab is a research and development center at the forefront of design and innovation. It provides a testing ground for technology products and services that can be integrated into daily hotel operations. The organization’s goal is to save energy, increase operational efficiency and improve guest loyalty through enhanced experiences.
The partnership continues LG’s history as an approved supplier to Marriott International and the leading supplier of hotel TVs across Marriott’s brands.
LG has recently increased its investment in the robotics space. In January, the company acquired a majority stake in Bear Robotics Inc., a Silicon Valley developer of autonomous service robots. LG said the acquisition is in line with its strategy to strengthen its presence in robotics, a key growth area for the company.
As part of this strategic move, LG’s commercial robotics business, centered around the LG CLOi service robot, will be integrated with Bear Robotics’ product line.
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