Ifbot? Hello Kitty Robo?!They Must Not Have Read the Story Above: Robots Are So Yesterday

'Hello! I'm here for meeting!' Fact: I'm on lunch. Advice: Go away. 'Hello! Please I like some coffee while I wait!' Alarm: You scared the oil out of me! Repeat: I said I'm on my break. Assessment: You are annoying. Request: Can someone call security?

Robot Receptionists To Debut

from Reuters

TOKYO - Need temporary help on your company's reception desk? One Japanese employment agency is suggesting you try recruiting a robot.

For just under $430 a month, a fraction of the cost of a human temp, the PeopleStaff agency will dispatch Hello Kitty Robo, a robotic receptionist capable of sensing a visitor's presence, greeting him, or her and holding simple conversations.

The Nagoya-based agency is also offering the services of Ifbot, an elderly-care robot that chats and poses riddles and arithmetical problems to train the brain and help avoid dementia. Spaceman-like Ifbot, which also quizzes people about their health, is aimed at hospitals and old peoples' homes.

A spokeswoman for PeopleStaff said it would cost more than $2,580 a month to employ a person for this type of work, but warned that the robots were not capable of doing everything human employees can do.