A humanoid robot delivering drinks to customers at the Dawn Cafe in Tokyo. The cafe’s launch comes with the Paralympics due to open on Aug 24 and disability advocates debating Japan’s progress on inclusion and accessibility. — AFP
TOKYO: At a Tokyo cafe, Michio Imai greets a customer, but not in person. He’s hundreds of kilometres away, operating a robot waiter as part of an experiment in inclusive employment.
Dawn cafe’s robots are intended to be more than a gimmick, offering job opportunities to people who find it hard to work outside the home.
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A humanoid robot delivering drinks to customers at the Dawn Cafe in Tokyo. The cafe’s launch comes with the Paralympics due to open on Aug 24 and disability advocates debating Japan’s progress on inclusion and accessibility. — AFP
A humanoid robot delivering drinks to customers at the Dawn Cafe in Tokyo. — AFP
As customers chat with the pilots operating the mini robots, three larger, humanoid versions move around to serve drinks or welcome customers at the entrance. — AFP
The machines named OriHime feature cameras, a microphone and a speaker to allow operators to communicate with customers remotely. — AFP
A customer collects her drink from a humanoid robot at the Dawn Cafe in Tokyo. — AFP
The project is the brainchild of Kentaro Yoshifuji, an entrepreneur who co-founded the company Ory Laboratory that makes the robots. — AFP
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