Autonomous Robots Boost Senior Living Facility Floor Care

Direct Supply—description—expands its strategic partnership with SoftBank Robotics America to help commercial cleaning executives scale smarter operations through autonomous floor care programs.

"Robotics in senior living can't be about technology for technology's sake. It has to solve real problems for operators, staff, and residents," says Justin Smith, Senior Manager of Innovation, Direct Supply. "Together, we're pairing proven robotics with the support, training, and operational understanding needed to help communities adopt automation in a way that delivers measurable value today and creates a stronger foundation for the future of care."

Since SoftBank Robotics America became an official Direct Supply partner in March 2025, the collaboration has become a model for senior living and long-term care facilities seeking practical ways to strengthen operations amid labor pressure, rising variable costs, and growing expectations for operational consistency. Nearly 100 communities now employ over 100 autonomous floor care robots each day. As a result, productivity, cleaning consistency, and resident experiences have improved.

For instance, the implementation of a robotics program at Sabra Health Care REIT has enhanced operations. The program helped staff shift time away from manual floor care tasks and toward higher-value resident services, increasing cleanliness perception by 87 percent and creating new value across communities.

"This partnership is about delivering outcomes, not deploying robots," notes Mark Stoll, Senior Vice President of Revenue and Commercial Growth, SoftBank Robotics America. "We're helping communities achieve consistent, measurable performance—reallocating labor, improving the quality of clean, and creating predictable operations at scale."