In the next three years, Lawson intends to introduce digital avatars at register monitors that can be operated remotely by actual people in more than 200 locations. At the end of November, the technology developed by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, Director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University, will begin appearing at a few Lawson stores as part of a testing phase. The ability to control virtual avatars remotely via a computer, camera, and microphone at home is the system’s main selling feature. In addition to answering queries from customers, staff members will be able to direct them and show them how to use self-checkout registers.
Read more from Econotimes.com
