Tissue-Dispensing Robot from Japan
Mospeng-Kun
Planning a party in the future? Maybe this robot can pamper your guests. Pink Tentacle describes, "Mospeng-kun is a tissue-dispensing robot created by InterRobot Inc., a robot development and rental company based in western Japan. When the friendly Mospeng-kun detects a person nearby, it utters a high-pitched onegai shimasu and offers up a pack of tissues. When the tissues are taken from the robot's hand, it thanks the customer with an arigato gozaimashita and grabs another tissue pack from the cartridge for the next person. InterRobot's rental fees start at 100,000 yen ($835) for 5 days, which is quite a bit more than the going rate for a human tissue distributor. But Mospeng-kun looks to be a cheerful worker, constantly maintaining a smile on its face monitor."
Trend Themes
1. Robot-assisted Hospitality - The development of robots like Mospeng-Kun presents opportunities for businesses in the hospitality industry to automate certain tasks and improve guest experiences.
2. Interactive Robotic Customer Service - With Mospeng-Kun's ability to detect nearby people and offer tissue packs, there is potential for robots to become interactive service providers, potentially disrupting industries such as retail and healthcare.
3. Rental of Robotic Devices - As seen with InterRobot's rental fees for Mospeng-Kun, there may be a growing market for companies to offer affordable rental options for businesses looking to incorporate robotic devices into their operations.
Industry Implications
1. Hospitality - The development of friendly robots like Mospeng-Kun could significantly improve guest experiences in industries such as hotels, restaurants, and theme parks.
2. Retail - Robotic devices like Mospeng-Kun could disrupt the traditional role of human customer service representatives, potentially reducing operating costs and increasing efficiency in retail stores.
3. Healthcare - Interactive robots like Mospeng-Kun could potentially be used in healthcare settings to provide assistance to patients and improve the overall quality of care provided.