Toshiba developed a first humanoid robot known as Aiko Chihira who is working at the information desk of a department store in Tokyo. Daily Mail reports: “Chihira is unlikely to engage in small talk its makers admit. Instead the robot was created to appear, talk and move as humanly as possible. Chihira blinks, bows and moves its mouth and lips smoothly while speaking.” A Toshiba spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that Chihira is programmed with multiple human-like expressions, and that it will offer six-minute guidance to customers with information about the department store including events. The first female robot will provide customer service at the Mitsukoshi department store in Nihonbashi. At present, the android can mimic only simple movements, such as exchanging greetings and signing in Japanese.
Looks like the female robots are used as marketing tools. Time magazine says: Tokyo department store Takashimiya installed a lifelike fembot in its display window to attract shoppers for Valentine’s Day. The robot, designed by Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro, is capable of 60 different facial expressions. It’s also hooked up to a Kinect sensor and equipped with facial recognition software so it can interact with passing pedestrians even yawning if nobody walks by for awhile”.
And Guardian newspaper reported that human-like robot, known as Otonaroid, joined Tokyo’s National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. According to media: “She has long brown hair, twitches her eyebrows, sways her heads from side to side and uses her hands for emphasis. But despite her realistic appearance, she is in fact a hi-tech robot “working” at a Tokyo museum as a humanoid guide for visitors”. Leading robotics expert Hiroshi Ishiguro highlighted that “robots were playing an increasingly important role in everyday life in Japan, they are now becoming affordable no different from owning a laptop.”
Would you like your business to have a human-like robot?
