Good practice:

Innovative robot technology in Ogre Central Library

Ogre Municipality has received 5 MEUR financing from the national Emission Quota Auctioning Instrument, which is the support program within the state budget, to be invested in the construction of the new Central Library. Municipality has come up with a decision to use various innovative solutions both in the construction process and the ones integrated in the library daily operation. One of those solutions will be an innovative robot, based on Artificial Intelligence technology, which will be financed from the budget of the city municipality. The robot will have to be able to welcome visitors both in Latvian and English, as well as hold a simple communication with them. The robot will have to be able to recognize people's emotions, mood, as well as know the difference between an adult and a child. Robot's task will be to provide audio and, perhaps, video information about the library and the city and to respond to the visitor's questions, comments or movements. The robot must be able to analyse responses received from visitors, provide additional information, establish dialogue as far as possible. The robot will also be able to navigate independently through the room, be equipped with sensors of different complexity levels, data sensors, data analysers, so that it can avoid obstacles in the lobby of the library and avoid collisions with visitors.

21 538 EUR is the amount to be paid for the solution according to the contract.

The practice has been an example of how to use procurement system in order to purchase an innovative solution for the city needs. At the same time, the product needed has been identified before the launch of the procurement, which demonstrated the possibility to have an innovation procurement with a technical specification and a specific product, rather than the functional specification where the end solution is unknown.

The main learning potential from this innovation procurement is the relatively not complicated procedure of such. The award criteria has been focused on economically most advantageous solution, nevertheless the technical specification has both combined the requirements specific enough to foster as advanced solutions as possible to be submitted and at the same time requirements did not limit the place for innovations to be proposed. The conclusion of the procurement process with the signed contract is a very successful outcome which demonstrated the high-level of competence and capacity to perform innovation procurement within the city municipality.