Humanoid robots in retail: fad or trend
summary
Migros deploys 6 Pepper humanoids in a mall as concierge and entertainer: conversation, dancing, selfies, high‑fives, map directions and a live call to the info desk via an iPad UI and integrated speech APIs (Microsoft and others). Development uses a local robotics partner (Roundcode), custom hacks around limited Pepper SDK, and geofencing and alarm for theft/security. Results are strong media traction and footfall attraction but no proven sales lift; problems include crowd tracking and poor recognition of children's and women’s voices.
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chapters (14)
- 0:00Intro
- 4:17Robots and AI
- 6:00What happened
- 6:21Pepper
- 7:03Media attention
- 7:37Pepper interface
- 9:27Pepper recommendation
- 10:09Pepper as sales assistant
- 13:14Boyan
- 16:33Lessons learned
- 16:43Collaboration
- 17:31Technical challenges
- 19:30Key success factors
- 20:34Questions
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