This post was published 1st April 2024 7.30am as an April Fool’s Joke.
We have partnered with LeisureBot.io to install AI-inspired customer service robots at our latest development for Vale of Hampshire Council at Thorn Croft Leisure Centre. The £10.4m new build facility will comprise of a 3-storey layout, including 320sqm gym, 3 studios, 25m swimming pool, learner pool and slides, 8 court sports hall, 6 indoor tennis courts, soft play and large café.
LeisureBot.io is initially providing two of its solutions; RoboGreet and RoboServe. The technology has already been successfully trialled in Australia, Portugal, Romania, Italy and Lithuania, and this will be a 1st for the UK before being rolled out across the rest of Europe in 2024.
Co-Founder and CEO at LeisureBot.io, Sofiya Pollard, comments, “Our vision started 25 years ago but it has been the fast advancement in large language models that has actually enabled us to start delivering our Robo products into the leisure sector. We’re especially proud of RoboGreet that has returned NPS scores of 95+.”
Whilst the company has primarily focussed on automating customer service, RoboServe is being trialled on the tennis courts as a “friend for billy-no-mates”. Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Dr Fayo Apollis explains, “Growing up in Greece I often found myself wanting to play tennis but none of my friends were into the sport, so I decided to build my own tennis companion. Early prototypes were unsuccessful with robots shutting down when losing points or arguing line calls with imaginary umpires. We discovered the learning model had focussed on 1980s professional tennis players so we expanded the scope of knowledge and introduced an empathy module.”
With 1,424 patents protecting the technology, LeisureBot.io has been valued at over $1.4bn and is due to enter another round of venture capital funding from interested parties. Alongside its leisure portfolio, Alliance Leisure are exploring opportunities to place RoboGreet in coffee shops across the country which could see one of 30,000 AI baristas serving your next morning cuppa. Trials are currently underway in 3 towns in Lancashire with performance feedback due over summer.
Paul Cluett, MD at Alliance Leisure, shows his enthusiasm for the technology, “We’re proud of our exploration of innovative technologies and this partnership with LeisureBot.io has unlimited potential. As a keen pool player I’m particularly interested in RoboCue that has been scheduled for launch later this year as we explore the resurgence in snooker halls.”
For more information on the Thorn Croft development or to learn about LeisureBot.io CLICK HERE