Maid Service: First self-propelled, mobile robot to enter a hotel room, carefully strip a...

...bed (including pillow cases), put dirty laundry into a bag it carries, and deliver the dirty laundry to the hotel’s laundry.  The bed must have at least a bed spread, bed sheet, blanket, quilt, and two pillows.  These robots are to operate alone inside hotel rooms (or with just other such robots) and because of this, they must be equipped with UV sterilization lights that they turn on once the door to the hotel room is closed.  [UV sterilization lights kill bacteria and viruses.  As hotel rooms are infamous for being coated with the bacteria and germs of previous hotel guests, this UV sterilization will be welcomed by hotel guests and promoted by the hotel that does it.]  To win this challenge (and Future Challenges #1 through #29), the program must include a learning algorithm, must transmit at least once per operational day what it has learned to the company that developed the program, and download updates from that central server.

1) Make a bed.  The bed must have at least a bed spread, bed sheet, blanket, quilt, and two pillows.

2) Turn on all lights, identify burnt-out light bulbs, replace burnt-out light bulbs, and dispose of burnt-out light bulbs.

3) Pick up non-hotel items from floor, identify what is trash, put trash into trash can, and put non-trash on desk if hotel guest will be staying again that night.  If guest has left, put all non-hotel non-trash items into a bag (tagged with the time and date, the hotel room number, and the name of the last guest to occupy the room), and delivers bag to the hotel’s lost-and-found box.

4) Empty all trash cans, take trash to dumpster, raise dumpster’s lid, dump trash in dumpster, close dumpster’s lid, and returns to work.

5) Dust all non-floor surfaces.

6) Clean all windows, mirrors, and glass surfaces.

7) Vacuum floor and chair cushions.  Must move all normally-movable furniture (chairs, suitcase stands, etc.) and, after it is done vacuuming, move them to their proper locations in the room.  Must completely vacuum underneath all non-movable furniture that is elevated off the floor by legs (beds, dressers, etc.).

8) Remove all objects from dresser, desk, nightstand, and other surfaces, wipe surfaces clean, wipe surfaces dry, and put all objects back in their proper locations.  Identify which objects belong to the hotel and which objects don’t.  If guest is staying another night, return non-hotel objects to where they were found.  If guest isn’t staying another night, puts non-hotel objects into a bag (tagged with the time and date, the hotel room number, and the name of the last guest to occupy the room), and deliver to hotel’s lost-and-found box.

9) Identify used towels and washcloths, put them into a laundry bag and deliver them to the hotel’s laundry.

10) Identify unused towels and washcloths and use them to properly stock the hotel room with towels and washcloths.

11) Properly stock bathroom with towels and washcloths.

12) Scrub both bowl and exterior of toilet and then wipe dry exterior.

13) Identify toilet paper rolls that are used (or, for those hotels that try to save on toilet paper, that are used too much), remove them, and put on a new toilet paper roll.  Transport unacceptable used toilet paper rolls to hotel supply room for disposal determination.  [Some hotels donate these to charities, such as homeless shelters.]  Check  whether spare, unused toilet paper is where it should be.  If it isn’t there, put a new roll there.

14) Remove all objects on sink counter, scrub sink and counter, clean mirror, and wipe dry counters.  Identify which objects belong to the hotel and which objects don’t.  If guest is staying another night, return non-hotel objects to where they were found.  If guest isn’t staying another night, put non-hotel objects into a bag tagged with the time and date, the hotel room number, and the name of the last guest to occupy the room), and deliver to the hotel’s lost-and-found box.

15) Identify used and unused sink toiletries and then bags used sink toiletries and takes them to the hotel supply room for disposal determination.  [Some hotels donate these items to charities, such as homeless shelters.]  Saves unused sink toiletries and use them to properly clean bathroom sink.

16) Stock sink with correct toiletries and put them all in their proper places.

17) Remove all objects in the shower, scrub shower, scrub shower door, walls, and ceiling, and wipe shower surfaces dry.  Identify which objects belong to the hotel and which objects don’t.  If guest is staying another night, return non-hotel objects to where they were found.  If guest isn’t staying another night, put non-hotel objects into a bag (tagged with the time and date, the hotel room number, and the name of the last guest to occupy the room), and deliver to the hotel’s lost-and-found box.

18) Identify used and unused shower toiletries and then dispose of used shower toiletries.  Saves unused shower toiletries and use them to properly stock the shower.

19) Stock the shower with correct toiletries and put them in their proper places.

20) Scrub the bathroom and shower floors and then wipe them dry.

21) Knock on hotel room door, provide live audio-video feed to front desk to enable desk personnel to hear whether anyone replies, and, when given instruction from front desk, unlock and open the hotel room door, announce itself, and wait for front desk to give it instruction to proceed with its maid duties.  All video footage is stored for at least twenty-one days in case it needs to be reviewed for some reason.

22) Provide a live feed video system to the front desk and hotel manager’s desk so those personnel can oversee the maid robot doing its work.  All video footage is stored for at least twenty-one days in case it needs to be reviewed for some reason.

23) When the robot is done with the room, signal the hotel front desk that the robot is done.  Front desk personnel can control the robot remotely to inspect its work, tell it to do some task over again, and tell it to leave the room.  Front desk personnel informs the robot of all rooms it is to clean that day.  The robot will then leave the room, shut the door (which should automatically lock as hotel rooms do), and proceed to the next hotel room to clean and prep it.

Completely clean and prep a hotel room (can use more than one maid robot) in less than:

24) Three hours.

25) One hour.

26) Thirty minutes.

27) Fifteen minutes.

28) Ten minutes.

29) Five minutes.

First hotel to:

30) Use the maid robot to regularly perform maid service in its rooms.

31) Be a 5-star hotel and use the maid robot to regularly perform maid service in its rooms.

32) Be a major hotel chain (1,000 hotels or more) and use the maid robots to regularly perform maid service in the rooms of all of its hotels.

First cruiseline to have:

33) One of their cruiseships use robot maids to clean its cabins.

34) One of its massive cruiseships use robot maids to clean its cabins.  Ship must have at least 1,000 cabins.

35) All of its cruise ships use robot maids to clean their cabins.  Cruiseline must have at least twenty cruise ships in its fleet.