The Henn Na Hotel (“weird hotel”) is staffed by robots: the Japanese-speaking check-in clerk is a vicious robot dinosaur, while the English-speaking one is humanoid; a robot arm stores and retrieves personal items from the guest lockers, and a chatbot serves as concierge.
It’s located in Nagasaki Prefecture, as part of the Huis Ten Bosch amusement park complex, and costs a very reasonable $80/night.
Outside, Sawada demonstrated a drone that flew in to deliver a few small jars filled with snacks. He wanted to eventually have drones perform in shows for guests.
In the rooms, a lamp-size robot in the shape of a fat pink tulip called Tuly answers simple questions such as, “What time is it?” and “What is the weather tomorrow?” You can also tell it to turn the room lights on or off. There are no switches on the walls.
Sawada is keeping the hotel half-filled for the first few weeks to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Japan’s robot hotel: a dinosaur at reception, a machine for room service
[AP]
(Thanks, Yasuko!)