Robots working as tour guides at Yokohama Landmark Tower

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Humanoid robots have started being used to introduce tourist spots to visitors at Yokohama Landmark Tower.

The robots were developed by major electronics manufacturer Hitachi. Three robots are placed on the observation deck of the 69th floor and one near the second floor ticket purchase area, Fuji TV reported. They began operating on Tuesday.

The robots, called EMIEW3, are 90 centimeters tall and have wheels so that they can move around on their own. When their sensors detect the presence of a person, they can start talking in Japanese, Chinese or English. Korean will also be added to the robots’ linguistic repertoire.

On the observation deck floor, they explain about tourist locations that can be seen from the window, and give info on local trivia. They can ask tourists where they are from.

The three robots are also programmed to dance simultaneously once in every hour.

Takeshi Yamamoto of Hitachi’s Global Solutions Unit said, “In the near future, we would like to offer our services to other commercial buildings, offices, train stations and airports.”