How about a rampant robot
Any chance they could make "pepper" look like the "rampant robot" ?
SoftBank Robotic's "Pepper" humanoid robot will soon be put to work selling pizzas in Asia. The robotics division of the Japanese business giant has struck a deal with MasterCard and Pizza Hut to place Pepper units in select pizza parlors in the region. The Pepper bots will be used in the pilot program to both greet customers …
you know, dentists often treat people who have swollen faces, numbness from the painkiller you were just injected with, or the inability to move part of your face because of "why you are at the dentist".
I wonder how the robot reads 'facial expressions' when YOUR! FACE! DOES! NOT! WORK! PROPERLY!!! That and still drooling and droopy-faced because of the new filling...
Actually for those who really want robotics to become science fact and not SF you are going to need systems that can read peoples feelings and respond to them.
Although the way supermarkets are going self service at checkouts will there be many human service jobs left for it to take over?
"you are going to need systems that can read peoples feelings and respond to them."
why bother, when average humans aren't very likely to give a crap and respond accordingly.
"You want it... WHEN?" "Have it YOUR way?" "I'll get to you as soon as I'm not busy."
yeah, never seen THAT happen...
[Us Americans are probably as good at queuing as our British counterparts, with the obligatory 'Hitchhiker' reference of course, and know well the frustration of the average un-caring teller]
"Share and Enjoy!!"
I personally would much rather be served by a human than a humanoid robot which generates an intolerable air of smugness whenever it is about to sell you something.
A human would (OK: might) know when to be chirpy and cheerful, and when just to be businesslike. There are situation when chirpy and cheerful might earn a robot a reprogramming with a big axe it will never forget