A Robotic Reception

"you rannng?"                                                                                                      IB Times ~ Japan

Japan has long been a leader in robotics, so it comes as no surprise that a hotel with mostly robotic staff has opened as part of an amusement park there. Beyond its obvious status as a tourist attraction, the Henn Na Hotel (the name means "Weird Hotel" but is also a play on words, as "hen" is part of the Japanese word for "change") is an attempt at lowering the cost of a hotel stay in a country known for high prices. Guests are greeted by a robot (a young woman for the Japanese, a dinosaur for the English-speakers, and what does that insinuate?!?), surrender their bags to a mechanical arm or automated cart, and gain entry to their room by facial recognition instead of card or key. There are still a few things, like security, that require the human touch, however. Another? "[Robots] still can't make beds," admits Hideo Sawada, who runs the hotel (story, video): http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/16/japans-robot-hotel-a-dinosaur-at-reception-a-machine-for-room-service