Human-like Chinese Robot May Be the Future of Hospitality

Humanoid robot "Jia Jia" may one day replace humans in many service roles.

A team of engineers out of China believes they may have taken the first step towards replacing humans in the hospitality industry.  The prototype of their humanoid robot, named "Jia Jia," made an appearance Monday at an economic conference organised by banking giant UBS in Shanghai's futuristic financial center.  Jia Jia is able to answer simple questions, hold basic conversations, and even recognize gender.  According to team leader Chen Xiaoping, such robots may soon perform a range of menial tasks in Chinese restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals and households.

"In 5-10 years there will be a lot of applications for robots in China," said Chen. 

Source: Phys.org