Robotics

Xwell expands Clockwork robotic manicures to airports

Xwell Inc., which offers self-operated massage chairs, nail care services, COVID testing kiosks and more, saw the airport as a natural offering for robotic Clockwork manicures at airports after witnessing its success in retail settings.

A customer uses a robotic Clockwork manicure machine at Miami International Airport. Photo: Xwell Inc.

February 7, 2024 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Consumers in need of a manicure at an airport don't always have the 40 minutes they might need when they come across an airport nail salon. But those that happen to be at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Miami International Airport or the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas will have the option of Clockwork, a robotic nail polish machine.

In the past year, Xwell Inc., a provider of wellness solutions for people on the go, has introduced Clockwork robotic manicures that provide a self-service nail polish in 10 minutes at these airports.

The Clockwork installations mark an expansion of Xwell's XpresSpa services found in airports in North America, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

Xwell's partnership with Clockwork, a San Francisco-based startup, expands the robotic manicure beyond its established in-store retail locations.

Airports offer a natural expansion

Xwell, which also offers self-operated massage chairs, nail care services, COVID testing kiosks and more, saw the airport as a natural offering for robotic manicures at airports after witnessing its success in retail settings.

The Clockwork machine uses 3D printing and robotic technology to custom polish nails.

Scott Milford (Photo: LinkedIn)

"One of the key trends we saw coming out of the pandemic was an increase in the use of technology in the wellness space," Scott Milford, CEO of Xwell, said in an email interview with Kiosk Marketplace. "We saw the value of being able to leverage that technology while providing our customers with more options for improving their well being. Whether they are pressed for time or they simply like to be on the cutting edge of using new things, we believe this new service will be a huge benefit to travelers."

The customer must first speak to an XpresSpa attendant to use the Clockwork machine and get queued into the system before interacting with the robot. The customer then selects from a palette of 40 colors after entering their personal information on a touchscreen.

A customer selects a color from the palette. Photo: Xwell Inc.

Once their hand is placed near the machine following visual prompts, a camera takes a picture and the sensors map in 3D a course for the brush to follow across the customer's nails. The polish is stored in a receptacle and automatically drips through a hole onto the brush.

The machine calculates the amount of polish to apply to the nail, the distance of where the brush needs to drop on the nail and the surface area it needs to cover.

The one-time brush then paints each nail, then waits for the polish to dry. The entire process takes about 10 minutes. The robot does not deliver the human tactile functions that are part of a full manicure, such as removing and adding polish by hand and maintaining cuticles.

Data updates automatically

The machine calculates the amount of polish to apply to the nail, the distance of where the brush needs to drop on the nail and the surface area it needs to cover. Photo: Xwell Inc.

"Our technicians can certainly watch the service being performed in 'real time' and Clockwork maintains bi-directional data feed with the machine to monitor the robots' diagnostic health (in) real time, pull data on the services performed and download updates to the system," Milford said.

The customer pays the attendant who manages the XpresSpa for using the Clockwork.

The robot has the ability to accept automated payment, Milford said, but this feature has not yet been activated. The XpresSpa does not take online reservations for Clockwork manicures.

The robot service at an XpresSpa costs $20 which is less than the full service manicure, which is $35 and more depending on the number of services.

The robot learns from repeated use about the application of distance and pressure so it continues to improve its delivery of service.

"Our teams are trained to handle the cleaning of the machine and daily calibration of the machine," Milford said. "Clockwork handles all the mechanics and maintenance of the machines. This ensures the device is always properly calibrated and able to deliver the highest quality service each and every time."

'Plug-and play' for the location

"Our partner only needs to provide a plug point and Wi-Fi, and we do all the rest, including inventory, servicing, live support, marketing, education and more," Renuka Apte, CEO and co-founder of Clockwork, said in an email interview.

The Xwell employees have welcomed the Clockwork, Milford said, although it does require some training.

"There was certainly an acclimation period at the start of the pilot, but our teams are embracing the technology as an added offering to the menu of nail services we offer at XpresSpa," Milford said.

"We've seen several benefits come out of the partnership," Milford said for Clockwork. "Number one is our ability to offer more options to travelers and by leveraging the robot, we are in a better position to serve more of those customers that come in for services.

"We can keep our nail technicians busy and provide added capacity to accommodate more passengers. Another benefit for us is that we set ourselves apart from the competition as a leader in offering technology solutions to travelers on the go."

Further expansion coming

Renuka Apte (Photo: LinkedIn)

Clockwork, founded in 2018 by Apte and CTO Aaron Feldstein, completed a six-store pilot test with Target Corp. in 2022, Apte said. The company currently has 12 robots deployed nationwide and has contracts for another 50 to be rolled out in the coming months.

"In addition to our airport and retail locations, Clockwork is in commercial real estate spaces such as 222 2nd Street in San Francisco and Rockefeller Center in NYC," Apte said. "We are also located on university campuses like UC Berkeley and SDSU."

"We are always looking for feedback from our customers to ensure that we have the colors they want and colors that are in line with up-and-coming trends," Apte said. "We currently offer nail polish from OPI, Essie and Zoya, as well as our own custom formulas."

The robotic manicure takes 10 minutes at Miami International Airport. Photo: Xwell Inc.

XpresSpa, with 34 locations and 15 airports globally, has recently expanded beyond airports to a location in Penn Station in New York City's Penn District to offer wellness-focused retail, autonomous massage and nail care services.

Xwell Inc., trading as XWEL on Nasdaq, offers the following consumer brands in addition to XpresSpa: Treat, Naples Wax Center, XpresCheck and HyperPointe.

Naples Wax Center is a group of skin care boutiques, with three locations currently operating.
XpresCheck provides screening and diagnostic testing in partnership with the CDC and Concentric by Ginkgo, conducting bio-surveillance monitoring in its airport locations to identify new SARS-CoV2 variants of interest and concern as well as other pathogens entering the country.
HyperPointe is a digital healthcare and data analytics relationship company serving the healthcare industry.