From baristas to inspectors: Singapore's robot workforce plugs labour gaps

Robot barista "Ella", designed by Crown Digital, makes a coffee autonomously after receiving orders, in Singapore. - Reuters

SINGAPORE, May 30 (Reuters): After struggling to find staff during the pandemic, businesses in Singapore have increasingly turned to deploying robots to help carry out a range of tasks, from surveying construction sites to scanning library bookshelves.

The city-state relies on foreign workers, but their number fell by 235,700 between December 2019 and September 2021, according to the manpower ministry, which notes how Covid-19 curbs have sped up "the pace of technology adoption and automation" by companies.