The municipal utilities of Bretten had a very special new colleague during the week of March 24th to 28th 2025: "Betti," a social robot, was placed at the reception desk. Friendly and approachable, the robot introduced herself to visitors and supported typical customer requests. As part of a research project between Heidelberger Services AG (hsag) and the human-centered systems lab we investigate human-robot interaction and the design of social robots in customer service. "We are particularly interested in how open customers and employees are to social robots," explains Sandra Müller, doctoral student at h-lab.  

While some customers were immediately curious and engaged in conversations with Betti, others preferred the familiar personal interaction with the municipal utilities' staff. Internally at the municipal utilities, Betti also sparked considerable interest. It is important to note: "The robot is not intended to replace jobs but to provide targeted support, for example, with routine tasks or to extend service beyond regular hours," says Sandra Müller. A social robot could record customer concerns outside of service hours, and an employee could call back later. In particular, Betti could be helpful in the area of multilingualism, as she can communicate effortlessly in several languages. "A robot can technically speak multiple languages, whereas a human quickly reaches limits." This could facilitate customer service for customers from different countries. Behind Betti is the social robot "Furhat" from Furhat Robotics, a company in Sweden. which has already been used at train stations and airports in Germany. In Bretten, the robot was spontaneously named "Betti," a nod to the city's name, which was well received by both customers and employees. 

Further information about the project is available here: https://h-lab.win.kit.edu/1474_1941.php