Ubiko Wants to Put You Out of Work
According to the Associated Press, it can greet people, show DVDs, and hand out balloons. Ubiko, a robot with a catlike face, is joining the crew of temporary workers supplied by a Japanese job-referral company to stores, events and even weddings.
Ubiko is short for “ubiquitous computing” and “ubiquitous company” but also sounds like a Japanese female name, which often end with “ko” as in Aiko and many similar.
Ubiko sports a camera and infared sensors in its head, greets customers with a nasal electronic voice, shows DVDs with a projector in its head and hands out balloons and other goods with wireless remote-controllable arms. Akihabara News also referred to Ubiko’s “very annoying synthesized voice” but we think she sounds just fine. You can go to the site and hear for yourself. Well, OK, maybe a bit annoying.
Next month, the 44-inch tall robot will be selling mobile phones at a store, said Akiko Sakurai, a spokeswoman at the company, UBIX or Ubiquitous Exchange. Ubiko can be hired as a temporary worker for two hours for 105,000 yen, or $890. “We see this as serious business. There are jobs that robots are better at,” Sakurai said. “People do develop an attachment with the robot, and it’s lovable.”
Three of them were sold last month to a hospital, where they are working as full-time, rather than temporary, receptionists and guides. The bot costs $255,000 for those buying full-time staff rather then renting temps. A spokesperson noted that, just given a bit of electricity, the robot will work long hours at tedious repetitive tasks and the employer needn’t worry about labor laws or benefits.
According to AP, “Japan’s declining birth rate means that in coming years it could face a labor shortage, and some experts believe that robots could be part of the solution to that problem. Robots are very popular in Japan partly because of the popularity of manga and animation that portray robots as friends and aides to humans.”
Source: Daimaou. “Ubiko, The Robot That Will Eventually Put You Out of Work,” Akihabara News 11/21/06.
Related Post: “Japan and Korea Eye Ubiquitous Networked Society,” EBT Blog 08/12/06.
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