Covestro, a leading polymer company, announced its collaboration with Bear Robotics, makers of the Servi™ line of Hospitality Robots. When designing Servi™, Bear Robotics required a material that was aesthetically appealing, dimensionally stable, and resistant to both impacts and chemicals. After extensive testing they found that Makroblend® UltraTough’s PC/PET combination fit the bill.
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Servi™ is arriving in the market at an opportune time, as restaurant owners face labor shortages and worker happiness is at a premium. Designed as a complement to the modern kitchen and its waitstaff, Servi™ and Servi™ Mini reduce stress for restaurant workers by delivering food and drinks out from kitchen to table, then bussing back dirty dishes, allowing servers to focus more deeply on customer experience and satisfaction while improving overall efficiency.
As a fully self-driving robot, Servi™ is filled with an array of cameras, sensors, processors, along with an advanced LiDar system that lets it not only get to the correct destination, but navigate around patrons and other unpredictable front- and back-of-house situations. Bear Robotics needed a material that could take impacts and stand up to the chemical effects of repeated washings while keeping the sensitive electronics inside safe. Makroblend® UT was chosen for these traits, along with its superb moldability and ability to take paint well.
Covestro’s more than 50 years of polycarbonate manufacturing experience played a key role in finding precisely the right material for this new and innovative device. ln general, molded plastics have a lower carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) than custom manufacturing with metals or other materials typically used for this purpose.
“In choosing a company to supply material for some of our major plastic parts, Covestro’s broad selection of specialized polymers, technical support and expertise made them the right choice,” says Dan Elliott, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Bear Robotics.
In addition, Makroblend® UT’s moderate viscosity made it an easier material to process than the molder anticipated.
To learn more about how your company can improve the form and function of its new products, read the Bear Robotics case study.
About Covestro LLC:
Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business, which is among the world’s largest polymer companies with 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative, sustainable solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. In doing so, Covestro is fully committed to the circular economy. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, electrical and electronics and healthcare industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 50 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 18,000 people as of June of 2021.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro’s public reports which are available at The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.