“We will make the most efficient hotel in the world,” company President Hideo Sawada said in a news conference.
The robots being used are called Actroids and are human-like robots which look and behave like a human. They were developed from research at Osaka University and manufactured by a company named Kokoro. The first models came out in 2003 featuring a Japanese woman who speaks Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English with the ability to make hand gestures and eye movements. The Henn-na hotel will feature three receptionist robots as well as robots serving as porters and working as cloak room attendants and cleaners.
Over in California, not far from Apple’s corporate campus, Aloft Hotels put what they called the world’s first robotic butler at the front desk last year. Botlr is used to shuttle amenities to guest rooms and acknowledges requests with peppy beeps and flashing lights.
Meanwhile, South Korea is set to open the world’s first theme park devoted entirely to robotics and artificial intelligence. Robot Land is set to open in 2016.
Room rates at the Hen-na Hotel start at ¥7,000 a night. — AFP-Relaxnews