Hello Receptionist?
 

Can a robot replace your receptionist?

(Business 2.0 Magazine) - So far, computers have displaced assembly-line workers, telephone operators, and musicians. Now a Japanese staffing firm wants to add front-desk personnel to the list. In February, Nagoya-based People Staff launched a service called Robot Dispatch: For $424 a month - or one-sixth the cost of one of the firm's human temps - Japanese companies can rent an electronic receptionist shaped like Hello Kitty.

Manufactured by Business Design Laboratory, also based in Nagoya, the 20-inch-tall Hello Kitty Robo can recognize as many as 10 faces, ask visitors to speak their names, and tell them when the person they have come to see is ready. With 20,000 stored conversation patterns, songs, and riddles, the robot is arguably more entertaining than many real attendants. Cheaper too. "Many Japanese corporations don't have a person at reception," says Chihiro Yamada, a People Staff spokeswoman. "If a company wants to hire a receptionist, we can save them money."


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Robots! They're gonna take all the entry level jobs!!!! :lol:

Talking to a Hello Kitty robot? Sounds pretty akward to me. :lol:

Wow. That sounds really annoying, with extra cheese. But so are the computer receptionists you get when you call any big company.

-=Stands next to a Hello Kitty robot, shifting restlessly=-

Soooooooo

uhhhhh



....how are you? ^_^;;

Next: Giant Furbies.

Dude, I want hello kitty to answer *my* phones.

Hello Kitty receptionists??? WTF? :ohwell:

*walks into the office....see's a large anthromorphic big headed cat at the desk, quickly runs away in horror*

:lol: I read about this in the paper a few days ago. In a sense, it is good that they are advancing robots; the sooner they take over the world and appoint themselves as our masters, the better

Although, I am tempted to get one and get it to prank call my Natzi neighbours :evilgrin:

Oh, don't worry Doom. I'm sure that in time the robots will give you half of their profits for being so evil and...Robotic-esq, dare I say it *hides*