Oh, I just can’t wait for the day when American politicians start making robots a straw man issue in an election season. If Hello Kitty has her way, she’ll be one of the robots taking over our jobs, at least she will be if Japan’s Business Design Laboratory has anything to do with it. They’ve built a Hello Kitty robot office receptionist that a partner company (called Robot Dispatch) is now renting out to businesses. The 20″ bot can recognize faces, ask visitors for their names, and hook them up with the right person in the office. It also has 20,000 stored “conversational patterns,” songs, and riddles.
I don’t know about you, but I’d be a little spooked if I walked into the office of a reputable company and there was a giant plastic doll on the desk asking me to identify myself and posing me riddles while I waited for my appointment. But as the article points out, a robot might at least be more entertaining than many office receptionists.
Thanks, Jay!