A South Florida company is on a mission to build robots for local businesses, and at the same time, inspire students to pursue careers in technology. Vanessa Medina has more in our 7 Spotlight. From cleaning to delivering, and just creating a little fun, robots are becoming a part of life. And a South Florida company is on the cutting edge when it comes to building robots for local businesses. Felipe Alvarez, RobotLAB: “Hospitals, restaurants, hotels, assisted living, manufacturing. Vanessa Ortega, Robot Lab: “Right now, we have restaurants and also warehouses that need help.” RobotLAB in Fort Lauderdale develops and builds robots that can provide a helping hand for businesses. Co-owner Felipe Alvarez said he has seen the interest in robotics grow over the years and wanted to find a way to show the community just how useful they can be. Felipe Alvarez: “Business processes are changing drastically, very fast, because of the digital technology. So it’s something that will save money and time to the owners.” RobotLAB has developed a wide range of robots, like Pepper, who is used to dancing. But they can help with cleaning, delivery, especially if they can help interact with humans. Pepper: “Please push the continue button, and I will tell you more about me.” Robots like Pepper can be found at hotels or conventions to help provide directions or tourist information. Cities like Fort Lauderdale are even using robots to help run training courses for city employees. Pepper: “That’s correct.” Felipe said, while the robots like Pepper are built to perform certain tasks, they are not meant to replace jobs. Felipe Alvarez: “It’s more as a helper.” He said the businesses that are using robots have been able to move employees to new roles. Other employees are needed to operate and maintain the robots, and that gives workers easy access to on-the-job tech training. Felipe Alvarez: “And I think it’s an opportunity for all companies to use as solutions to improve or enhance their business process.” The robots are not only useful in local businesses, they’re also handy in the classroom. Robot Pepper has been to area schools to help students create and build their own robots. Felipe Alvarez: “So kids love it, learn programing robots and also how to use it in the real life, so it’s an opportunity for kids to learn. You can be the next leader in technology.” The robotics field is growing fast, and Felipe says more people will be needed to fill the increasing number of tech jobs. He hopes emerging scientists in South Florida will be the ones ready to take on that challenge. Vanessa Medina, 7News. If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at [email protected].