When John Ha started Bear Robotics, he was a computer scientist with a restaurant side hustle who thought he might make the lives of his servers easier through automation technology. Since then, his robots have shown up in restaurants across the globe to lift some of the burden of physically demanding restaurant service jobs.
As it turns out, there are many other physically demanding jobs, one of which is nursing, which is why this week’s announcement by Bear of their deal with Sodexo makes sense. According to the company, they’ve closed a deal with food service giant Sodexo, where Bear’s robots will support staff and patient care within healthcare facilities.
According to a report from McKinsey & Company, the potential for automation to take on mundane tasks could free up nursing activities by 15 percent, allowing healthcare workers to focus more on patient care. Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the healthcare industry will grow 16 percent from 2020 to 2030, adding about 2.6 million new jobs.
“In partnership with Sodexo, we will be enhancing the future of work for healthcare professionals and maximizing the value of their time with patients through seamless integration of technology and efficiency,” said Juan Higueros, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Bear Robotics.
According to Bear, the pilot programs are set to launch in the United States in 2024.
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This post originally appeared on TechToday.