A hotel opening this summer in Japan will be partially staffed by humanoid robots capable of performing a number of common tasks including checking in guests, making coffee, cleaning rooms, carrying luggage and delivering laundry according to a recent report from The Washington Post.
The robots are being sourced from a company called Kokoro which has been developing realistic "actroids" since 2003.
Typically molded to look like a young Japanese woman, the robots are capable of mimicking human behaviors and mannerisms. For example, they appear to breathe, blink and even make eye contact and respond to body language and tone.
For guest convenience, the multilingual hotel bots will speak fluent Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean. They'll be supplemented by human staff although the eventual plan is to have actroids performing as much as 90 percent of hotel services in the not-too-distant future.
Even without the robots, the 72-room Henn-na Hotel currently under construction at the Huis Ten Bosch historical theme park in Nagasaki, Japan, will be considered rather high-tech. We're told that guests will be able to unlock their rooms using facial recognition technology while room temperature will be monitored by a radiation panel that can detect body heat.
And instead of calling the front desk when you want to order room service or report an issue, guests can use a hotel-provided tablet.
The Henn-na Hotel plans to open in July with rates starting at $60 per night.