A humanoid robot is offering boarding information to passengers at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
Japan Airlines introduced the 60-centimeter-tall robot, which speaks 3 languages, on Tuesday. It is aimed especially at accommodating the surge of Chinese travelers during the Lunar New Year holidays.
The robot uses cute gestures to notify passengers in Chinese and English that their boarding times are approaching and to remind them about security checks.
It will operate on a trial basis through next week.
A Chinese couple said the robot is eye-catching and its Chinese is easy to understand.
The robot currently speaks Japanese far better. It can converse in Japanese with passengers to answer up to 7 questions, such as where to board and the weather at the travel destination.
The airline says it will be studying passenger response to the robot guide during the trial, and is considering upgrading the robot’s system so it can also answer questions in Chinese and English.
A receptionist at the airline said the robot helps her deal with the many Chinese travelers who line up for security checks at this time of year.
Source: NHK Video and image: ANN
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