Always Be Chatty: Japanese robot Pepper will sell you a coffee machine… with a smile
Chatty robots in human form have started selling coffee machines to customers in Japan as of Monday, with their makers claiming that they can understand 80 percent of conversations, along with being able to play games with customers and answer questions.
The robot which debuted at a promotional event on Monday was
called Pepper and belonged to Nestle Japan Ltd as part of an
innovative new sales technique for its Japanese stores. It has a
smiling human face and an interactive tablet mounted on its
chest.
“By simply answering my questions, I can tell which coffee
machine is perfect for you,” the 120cm tall Pepper stated
with confidence at the event, held at Bic Camera’s Yurakucho
store in Tokyo, the Japan Times reported.
It is Pepper’s job to welcome customers at electronics stores to
answer customers’ questions about the coffee machines and aid
them in selecting the one that best caters to their needs.
“How do you enjoy coffee? Number one: An eye-opener coffee;
Number two: A post-meal cup of coffee,” Pepper asked a
Japanese TV personality, Kyoko Uchida, at the event.
The robot is able to attempt forms of interaction not solely
focused on coffee machine purpose too – and is able to play games
with and quiz customers.
Pepper’s creators claim that the bot can understand 80 percent of
conversation. Currently it is able to converse in Japanese only.
However, it is always learning; its makers say that it can
develop its abilities through “listening.”
Pepper robots started work at four different stores Monday, and
in total, around 1,000 will eventually utilize the bot’s
services.
“We originally introduced Pepper at SoftBank shops so that it
can serve customers in ways that we weren’t able to before,
providing a new type of service,” Kenichi Yoshida, vice
president of the Business Development Division at SoftBank
Robotics Corp told the Japan Times.
Its design was unveiled in June, and it already started selling
mobile phones at SoftBank’s 74 Japanese stores. The bot will
likely go on sale in February 2015.
