Japanese tech giant SoftBank opens a robot-staffed cafe in Shibuya.
[Photo/Instagram: @pepperparlor]
Whether it's autonomous robots delivering pizza, welcoming guests and offering room service at hotels, or making cocktails on cruise ships, it seems our new metallic companions are finding much to do in the hospitality and food-and-beverage sectors – and nowhere more so than in Japan. A cafe has just opened in Tokyo's lively Shibuya district, Pepper Parlor, where the vision of the 2008 anime series Time of Eve, in which androids and humans coexist, seems to have been realised. It's not the first time such a venture has opened in Tokyo, but this time around it comes with the backing of tech giant SoftBank.
At Pepper Parlor, a variety of bots work with their human companions, including the iconic Pepper. The 120cm-tall talking robot has become something of an icon in Japan since being launched by SoftBank's robotics unit in 2015, appearing in hospitals, stores, airports and museums.
At Pepper Parlor, Pepper greets customers, takes their orders, interacts with customers at tables and even takes photos. It's a fascinating and unique experience that gives us a glimpse of a perhaps inevitable future.
SoftBank has also given Pepper some managerial duties, with some staff to oversee. He's joined by smaller Nao robots, which are about half his size and capable of performing delicate, precisely choreographed dance routines. And then there's Whiz, the AI cleaning robot, which relies on self-driving technology to clean Pepper Parlor after hours. Of course, there's merch, too – customers will be able to purchase Pepper Parlor accessories available throughout the cafe.
Over and above the obvious gimmick of such a venture, SoftBank says it's a research-oriented move in which the tech giant builds know-how by managing the store itself, ultimately using the experience to propose functions that other companies might want in robots.
Japan's population is ageing and stagnating, and there is a shortage of workers in many sectors. So there's a feeling that AI-enhanced robots can assume many such duties. Human–robot collaborations are the future – and that relationship may even develop into one of competition if the androids show advances in their capabilities.
