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Robot Receptionists Take Over Japan
By Cynthia Kirkeby
Sep 9, 2006, 6:52am
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Receptionists are going the way of phone operators. Where you were once greeting by a human voice, you now navigate, often annoying, voice mail systems. In Japan, many firms are now using robot receptionists instead of human receptionists.
The Japanese receptionists vary about as much as you could imagine. According to ABC News for just under 50,000 yen ($570) a month, you can bring in a Sanrio Hello Kitty receptionist. Although Hello Kitty seems ill-suited for most corporate environments, the robot receptionist can sense when someone arrives and hold basic conversations with the newly arrived guests.
My guess would be that more clients would find themselves annoyed rather than entertained. Imagine a client's frustration with voice mail on steroids, and that is what I see happening with this robot receptionist.
Another robot receptionist is so human-like that Detective Del Spooner in iRobot by Isaac Asimov would be watching them very closely for a violation of the three rules of robotics. Saya looks uncannily like a young Japanese woman. She can sense when someone is nearby, and according to MSNBC, she has a few hundred phrases, and six facial expressions: surprise, fear, anger, revulsion, happiness and sadness.
Although this android receptionist doesn't have the level of irritation that the Hello Kitty receptionist does, it may still grate on the clientele in short order. It definitely wins our award for the "to close to human" creepy factor.
Robot Receptionist Learning Links
Hello Kitty robot receptionist debuts in Japan
"A Japanese employment agency is suggesting companies try recruiting a robot, instead of hiring a temp receptionist."
Source: ABC News
Saya, the Japanese receptionist robot
"A Japanese employment agency is suggesting companies try recruiting a robot, instead of hiring a temp receptionist."
Source: Nothing But Pictures and a Few Words
Robot Love
Japan is obsessed with machines that have arms, legs and head and say 'hello.'
Source: MSNBC
© Copyright 2006 by Classbrain.com
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