(All photos by Rodrigo Reyes Marin/AFLO)
Pepper the robot works at the reception of the Hamazushi conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Saitama, just north of Tokyo.
The humanoid robot created by SoftBank Robotics is being tested by the sushi chain to greet, take table bookings and let customers know when their seats are ready.
Pepper was introduced to improve the speed of service at the already highly automated restaurant. It is hoped that in the future Pepper’s facial recognition and free conversation technology will also be used to offer personalized greetings and to introduce tailor made promotions to customers.