Meet Aiko Chihira. She speaks Japanese and wears a kimono. She greets customers and conveys information.
But Aiko’s not Japanese. She’s not even human.
She’s an android made by Toshiba and now she works at Mitsukoshi, the high-end department store in Nihonbashi.
Unfortunately she can’t converse or respond to questions, unlike the more interactive Nao humanoid robot, currently serving Mitsubishi UFJ bank customers, or Pepper, the friendly droid greeting visitors to Softbank stores.
But she blinks, bows, moves her (sorry, its) mouth and lips. She is programmed with human-like facial expressions and can offer a looped vocal guidance to department store customers.
For example, if you want to hear about the layout or an event, this robot will tell you.
She can even communicate in sign language, so at least the uncanny valley is barrier free for the deaf.
Toshiba describes her as the “quiet type” who is “happy to help people”. Something tells us there might be some male fantasies at play here…
Find Aiko on the ground floor of Mitsukoshi. Sadly, she’s not a permanent addition. She will only be “working” at the store on April 20th and April 21st. She is a promotional feature as part of a longer Toshiba event at the seventh floor Hajimarino Cafe from April 22nd to May 5th.
1 Comment
I saw the actroid robots in Japan and think this a cool idea. These robots are very interactive, some of them are programmed to speak several languages. I am always amazed at Japanese technology and how quickly it evolves. Great story!