IBM and Hilton have developed a robot-concierge based on the cognitive system Watson

The robot is named Connie in honor of Conrad Hilton



Hilton, which operates a chain of hotels of the same name, is currently testing Connie's robot concierge. This robot is no longer a concept; it works at the Hilton McLean Hotel in Virginia, USA. The Connie software platform is based on the functionality of the Watson cognitive system. Residents can ask a robotic assistant questions about nearby restaurants, tourist attractions, the hotel itself. Unfortunately, the robot can not yet reserve space for hotel customers and perform the work of the administrator. For now, only answers to questions.
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The hardware platform is the Nao robot, a popular model of the French company Aldebaran. Its cost is $ 8,000. The robot communicates in different languages, and it works not only in the hotel business, but also in other areas, including Japanese banks.



Connie now uses several Watson APIs at once, including Dialog, Speech to Text, Text to Speech (TTS) and Natural Language Classifier. By the way, recently three APIs have been added at once (for now beta versions): Tone Analyzer, Emotion Analysis and Visual Recognition. The Text to Speech (TTS) service has been updated to provide new opportunities for emotions, as well as access to the Expressive TTS speech module API. All this significantly expands the boundaries of the interaction of man and machine, and the car was taught to empathize with human emotions, adding empathy. “We continue to improve the capabilities of the IBM Watson platform, providing the developer community with the ability to create dynamic applications and services based on artificial intelligence,” said David Kenny, head of IBM Watson. “We also simplify the platform, making the process of creating, training and implementing developments based on IBM Watson more understandable and rational,” he adds.

Thanks to the cognitive system, the robot concierge understands human speech. The system also receives information from WayBlazer, an IBM partner providing personalized information for travelers.

Connie is a self-learning system. The more people communicate with the robot, the better it answers questions, improving their communication skills over time. The quality of system recommendations is also improving. The hotel has access to a robot's question and answer log, which will allow customers to view the history of conversations with the concierge with the guests, receiving useful information.

“We are trying to rethink the entire travel experience in order to provide more amenities to hotel guests ... We are pleased to surprise our customers,” says Jonathan Wilson, vice president of Hilton Worldwide.

“The joint Hilton and IBM project is an important change in human-machine interaction, the epitome of the Watson cognitive system,” said Rob Hay, vice president and chief technology officer of IBM Watson.

Hilton is quite successful in using technical innovations, providing new opportunities for its hotel guests. So, in 1947, the company was the first to install televisions in the rooms. From the recent - introduction to the operation of the digital registration system Room Selection, which has already been used by 10 million people, Digital Key systems, partnership with Uber, Tesla and other companies.