An automated robot is in use in the luxuriant Los Angeles Crescent Heights Ten Thousand building.

Robotics company Savioke developed the ‘Relay’ model robotic butler as a ‘chain of custody solution’ for higher-end hotels and apartment buildings. The Crescent Heights unit is known as Charley.

What can Charley do? When residents place orders via their iPad, the automatous wheeled delivery robot is able to negotiate elevators and hallways to transport mail, takeout food, or other necessities directly to their doors. At arrival, the unit, which is integrated with the business’s telephone system, is able to alert a guest or resident, interact with them, and automatically open its lid for collection. Charley then returns to its docking station to remain fully charged. It moves at about walking-speed, and employs sensors in its journey from base to room and back again.

Savioke’s Steve Cousins, CEO of the company, is thrilled with the development, which came about as a result of a Crescent Heights employee taking a room at an upscale motel which employed the Relay on a test basis. He reveals the secret of the model’s astute movement is a blend of artificial intelligence and artful algorithmic programming, which allow it to negotiate a busy building without incident; in the event they are stymied, the units are programmed to contact a human interface call center for special instructions.

Savioke, founded in 2013, is a company dedicated to developing sophisticated robot helpers for the services industry. In 2014, the company successfully test marketed SaviOne, a similar but less sophisticated unit which was the precursor for the Relay.

Apart from Charley, Crescent Heights Ten Thousand offers other high-end amenities, including a pool with underwater speakers, available Botox injections, Rolls Royce town car, and a third-floor one-acre park with southern exposure. Monthly apartment rentals are priced from $9,000.