Juan Pedro Tomás

SoftBank Robotics Group (SBRG) has announced a partnership with IoT provider UnaBiz, with the aim of integrating IoT sensors and robotics in building management and maintenance.

The two firms said that this new partnership will allow the efficient mobilization of on-site manpower resources and will improve customer service experiences with more targeted and enhanced cleaning services. The new partnership deal will first roll out in Singapore and subsequently in other SoftBank Robotics’ regional and global offices.

“SoftBank Robotics has always been committed to providing solutions such as Whiz, an AI-enabled vacuum cleaning robot to facility operators. With the use of disruptive technologies such as predictive data on maintenance monitoring, it will provide building owners with building intelligence that is needed to digitally transform this industry operating landscape. Teaming up with Unabiz, a leading market player in Singapore, we are confident that this partnership will not just add value to our customers but eventually make a difference in the entire sector,” said chief business officer at SoftBank Robotics, Kenichi Yoshida.

This alliance is part of SBRG’s roadmap to implement an IoT system onto a unified smart facility management platform – where IoT devices trigger alerts and automate AI-enabled autonomous vacuum cleaning robots like Whiz to tasks in addition to providing AI predictive data analytics.

Co-CEO and co-founder of UnaBiz, Henri Bong said: “Facility managers are embracing technology to increase the productivity of the workforce, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce carbon emissions. Both IoT and robotics have a lot of complementary purposes and the synergy of both can unlock new value for future disruptions and growth. We are confident that the right mix of SBRG robotics and our IoT devices could greatly benefit the whole industry.”

Based in Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Paris and Amsterdam, UnaBiz says it has deployed over 1 million sensors globally in 28 countries.

In 2021, UnaBiz deployed one of the largest Integrated Facilities Management projects in Singapore, with over 3,000 sensors at Temasek Polytechnic. On top of smart facilities management, UnaBiz also focuses on Smart Cities applications like Smart Metering, Asset Management, and Asset Tracking.

SoftBank Robotics launched the AI Commercial Vacuum Cleaner “Whiz” in 2018, and then launched the foodservice delivery robot “Servi” in 2019.

SoftBank Robotics operates in Tokyo, San Francisco, Boston, London, Paris, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

Earlier this month, German company United Robotics Group (URG) said it had reached an agreement with SoftBank Robotics Group to acquire the latter’s French subsidiary SoftBank Robotics Europe SAS (SBRE). Under the terms of the deal, SoftBank Robotics will acquire a minority stake in URG and the two companies will continue to cooperate in the global marketing of various robots.