Can robots use lifts? Multi-floor robot deployment in hotels, hospitals and aged care

A robot that cannot use the lift is limited to one floor. For hotels delivering to rooms, hospitals moving specimens and linen, and aged care homes running meal and laundry trips, lift access is often what decides whether a robot is worth deploying at all. Robot-to-lift integration is now an established pattern that lift manufacturers support. It still needs careful scoping.

How does a robot ride a lift?

There are two common approaches. The first is a robot-side interface module. Several robot manufacturers supply a small internet-of-things module that connects to the lift’s call circuits and reports which floor the car is on. The robot talks to the module over Wi-Fi, a mobile network or both. In effect, the module presses the buttons on the robot’s behalf.

The second is an interface from the lift manufacturer, and major lift companies now offer their own. Otis describes its version as a cloud-based or on-premise interface that lets a robot place hall, car and destination calls and read car position, direction, load, door status and car mode. KONE offers a service robot interface for cleaning, delivery and security robots. Otis also notes that one installation can cover several lifts, so a robot can switch to another car if its first choice is unavailable.

Either way, a trip follows the same sequence:

1. The robot arrives in the lift lobby and requests a car.
2. The lift arrives and holds its doors while the robot checks there is room and enters.
3. The robot registers its destination floor.
4. At the destination the doors are held again while the robot exits, and the lift is released.

In typical systems, the integration makes the same requests a passenger would and adds a door hold, without changing how the lift decides to move or touching its safety circuits. Make that clear when you talk to your building owner.

The approach is already in use locally. In 2025 Otis announced its first New Zealand robot integration, at an Auckland hotel, where a delivery robot calls and rides an existing lift installed in 2021 to take food and beverages to guest rooms.

Who needs to approve lift integration in Australia?

Expect three parties to be involved, plus your robot supplier.

• The building owner or manager: in leased buildings, hotels under management agreements or strata schemes, the owner or owners corporation controls changes to building services.
• The lift maintenance contractor: this may be the original manufacturer or an independent firm. Anything connected to the lift should be approved, and usually installed, by them. Skipping this step can put your maintenance agreement at risk.
• Your WHS function: Safe Work Australia lists lifts as plant, and the definition extends to anything fitted or connected to plant. Treat the interface as a change to the lift and record it in your risk assessment. Registration requirements for lifts differ between jurisdictions, so let the lift contractor confirm whether anything needs updating.

The Robot Report notes that successful integrations depend on the lift company, the robot developer and the property manager agreeing on goals early.

What happens in a fire or emergency?

Many lifts in Australian buildings move into special operating modes during a fire alarm, for firefighter use or for maintenance. A robot should never compete with those modes. The better integrations report car mode back to the robot, so it can recognise that a lift is in fire service or out of service and hold its task instead of waiting in the lobby. Separately, configure the robot’s own fire alarm behaviour so it stops or parks clear of exits, fire doors and egress routes.

Plan for everyday failures too: a lift out of service for maintenance, a power interruption or a lost network connection. Agree what the robot does in each case and who gets notified.

Site checklist before you commit

Check	Why it matters	Who confirms
Lift make, controller age and available interfaces	Decides whether a manufacturer connection or robot-side module is feasible	Lift contractor
Door open and dwell times	Doors must stay open long enough for the robot to enter and exit on the first attempt	Lift contractor
Levelling accuracy at each floor	A step or gap at the sill can stop a wheeled robot	Lift contractor, site walk
Car size and rated load	Room for the robot plus passengers or trolleys	Lift contractor, robot supplier
Lobby space	The robot needs room to wait, turn and let people pass	Site assessment
Wi-Fi or mobile coverage in lobbies and inside cars	Lift cars and shafts often block signal, and the robot must stay connected	Network survey
Access-controlled floors	Swipe-card floors need a defined authorisation method	Security or IT
Peak lift traffic	Checkout, meal times and visiting hours affect wait times	Operations data
Service versus passenger lifts	A service or goods lift may be the better route	Facilities manager

Hotels, hospitals and aged care are different

Hotels usually want room delivery. Guest lifts are busiest at checkout and in the evening, so a service lift, where one exists, often gives more reliable trip times.

Hospitals move specimens, linen, meals and supplies, and lifts may carry beds and emergency transfers. Robots must give way to clinical priorities, and route design should keep them out of lifts reserved for patient movement.

Aged care homes have residents using walkers and wheelchairs who may be unsettled by a machine in a small space. Timing trips outside peak resident movement helps.

Will people ride with the robot?

Often, yes. A 2025 study in Frontiers in Robotics and AI found that voice announcements from the lift, explaining what the robot was doing, noticeably improved how passengers perceived both the robot and the lift, while coloured lights alone did little. Simple signage in lift lobbies and a short briefing for staff also help. Some manufacturers list, or have on their roadmap, options for robots that need to travel alone, such as a call that reserves the car exclusively, which can suit sensitive deliveries.

Robotx can help you work through lift integration with your building owner and lift contractor as part of a site assessment.