Citation
(2008), "Mitsubishi robot receptionist available for rent", Industrial Robot, Vol. 35 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2008.04935bab.006
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Mitsubishi robot receptionist available for rent
Mitsubishi robot receptionist available for rent
Japan is continuing its push to create robot workers to deal with labor shortages due to an aging population. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd has announced that their mobile robot Wakamaru (Figure 3) will now be available to rent for places that require a receptionist “in need of a humanoid touch.” The mobile robot has an android upper body with two arms and an expressive head but it moves using a wheeled base. It can understand about 10,000 words, recognize faces and track people while avoiding obstacles in its path. Interestingly, Wakamaru localizes itself using a map of the ceiling and a camera looking at it just like CMU's museum tour guide Minerva which in the past I have referred to as the tipping point for robotics.
Figure
3 Wakamaru-A robot worker designed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd to
deal with labor shortages in Japan caused by and ageing population