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Why Do Service Robots Matter?

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  • Article
  • Ages 10+
  • 4 min read
A service robot carrying folded towels through a bright corridor, illustrating everyday assistance.

A service robot is a robot that does useful tasks for people or for equipment, either for personal use at home or for professional use at work. A floor-cleaning robot in a house and a medicine-delivery robot in a hospital are both service robots. Knowing about them helps you recognize robots you may encounter at home, at work and elsewhere.

Contents
An illustration of a robot doing a job for a person in a familiar place.
  • A person
  • A robot
  • A place of work, such as a home

What you will learn

Before you start

Read the article "What Is a Robot?" first. It explains the basic idea of a robot.

What is a service robot?

IEEE describes service robots as performing useful tasks outside conventional industrial automation, distinguishing the category by intended application rather than hardware configuration. IEEE cites ISO 8373:2021’s definition of a service robot as one in personal or professional use that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment.

The same robot can belong to either group. A robot that delivers medication in a hospital counts as a professional service robot. The same platform set up to help in a home falls under personal use.

The same kind of robot can serve at home or at a workplace.
  • A home (personal use)
  • A workplace with a plus sign, such as a hospital (professional use)
  • A robot

A service robot also has some degree of autonomy, which is its ability to act on its own. The degree of autonomy ranges from partial, where a human operator monitors and intervenes, to full.

Where do service robots help us?

Service robots help in many places where people live and work. One source lists healthcare, the home and shops among them.

In healthcare and eldercare, they assist with patient transfer, medication delivery and rehabilitation. In the home, they perform tasks such as floor cleaning, lawn maintenance and security monitoring. In retail and hospitality, they manage inventory, guide customers and deliver food.

Service robots work in many places in everyday life.
  • Healthcare
  • The home
  • A shop

Why must service robots be built with care?

Service robots need careful design because they may work close to people. They typically operate in unstructured environments populated by untrained users. That requires safe physical interaction and adaptive behavior.

An unstructured environment is a place where conditions and object locations can change, such as a living room. A robot there meets chairs, pets and visitors it has never seen before.

Testing shows what a robot can really do. The NIST Robotics Test Facility is a laboratory for developing standard test methods for measuring robot performance. NIST also proposes a benchmark of basic tasks that represent the minimum capabilities expected of commercially available humanoid robots, whether for industrial, home, healthcare or other applications. A humanoid robot is a robot shaped like a person.

Robots near people need careful design and testing with set tasks.
  • A robot behind a safety fence
  • A robot among people
  • A staircase used to test robots

Can a service robot help in space?

Yes. NASA's Astrobee robots are free-flying helpers inside the International Space Station. NASA says Astrobee will help astronauts reduce the time they spend on routine duties, leaving them to focus more on the things that only humans can do.

Astrobee robots are designed for tasks such as taking inventory and documenting experiments conducted by astronauts with their built-in cameras. They work autonomously or by remote control from astronauts, flight controllers or researchers on the ground.

A free-flying robot helps astronauts inside a space station.
  • A space station
  • A free-flying cube-shaped robot
  • An astronaut
A free-flying robot drifts through the cabin instead of rolling or walking.

Real-world example

Think about the last place you saw a machine help a person: a floor cleaner at home, a delivery cart in a hospital or a robot guiding customers in a shop. Ask an adult which of these places has a robot nearby, and decide whether it is for personal use or professional use.

Common misunderstandings

Only factories have robots. Service robots work in homes, hospitals, shops and even space stations, and they do useful tasks for people.

A robot must always be fully autonomous. The degree of autonomy ranges from partial to full, so some service robots work with a human operator who monitors and intervenes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between personal and professional service robots?

It depends on how the robot is used. The same platform is professional when it delivers medication in a hospital and personal when it is set up for help at home.

Why are service robots tested?

Testing measures robot performance with standard methods. NIST runs a laboratory for developing such test methods.

Do service robots work in space?

Yes. NASA’s Astrobee robots are designed to assist with routine duties on the space station, such as taking inventory.

Summary

  • A service robot performs useful tasks for humans or equipment, in personal or professional use.
  • Service robots help in healthcare, in the home and in retail and hospitality.
  • Service robots often operate near untrained users, so they need safe interaction and testing; Astrobee is designed to assist astronauts in space.

Terms in this article

English and Vietnamese terms, with the meanings used here. Hover, tap or Tab to a term with a dotted underline for an explanation as you read.

Service robotRobot dịch vụ
In IEEE’s description, a robot doing useful tasks outside conventional industrial automation; the category is distinguished by intended use, not hardware configuration.
Personal useDùng cá nhân
Using a robot for personal needs, such as help at home.
Professional useDùng chuyên nghiệp
Using a robot in a professional setting, such as delivering medicine in a hospital.
AutonomyMức tự chủ
The extent to which a robot can act on its own, ranging from partial to full.
Unstructured environmentMôi trường không có cấu trúc
A setting not arranged in a fixed way for a robot, such as a living room with changing occupants and objects.
Humanoid robotRobot hình người
A robot with a human-like shape.
BenchmarkBộ chuẩn đánh giá
A set of tasks or tests used as a basis for assessing and comparing robot capabilities.
Free-flying robotRobot bay tự do
A robot moving freely through its workspace; Astrobee flies inside the space station.

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Sources

These sources are written for older readers. If they feel hard, read them with an adult.