A Promobot robotic human doppelganger begins work in a business centre in Dubai
In May 2022, a humanoid robot created by the company Promobot began work at Action to Action’s business centre in Dubai, UAE. The robot works as an administrator, greeting guests and answering questions.
The robot is a fully anthropomorphic mechanism. It mimics a person’s emotions: it moves its eyes, eyebrows, lips and other “muscles”, communicates and answers the questions. The technology developed at Promobot, along with its own patented design, makes it possible to reproduce more than 600 variations of human microexpressions. Promobot has also used its technology to create artificial skin.
“Our super mission is to break the barrier of human-machine interaction. A year ago, we received scientific confirmation of our hypothesis. We conducted a study of social attitudes towards robots – in the environment of multifunctional centers. The results surprised even us. It turned out that the robot received the most positive feedback from customers. That is, the ideal formula for service delivery is human appearance plus robot scripted communication. A human will never talk like a robot, but a robot that looks like a human is just around the corner. We are heading in the right direction” – says Aleksei Yuzhakov, Promobot Corporation Chairman.
The standard appearance of the robot was based on the image of Promobot’s chairman of the board. But to localize and adapt the robot to local users, it was supplemented with elements of local color. For instance, the robot wore a kufi, a headscarf that is an integral part of men’s wardrobe in Arab countries, and the robot wore a dishdasha, a traditional long-sleeved men’s shirt.
“The application of a humanoid robot is a great case study, and we are only at the beginning of the journey. As technology and productivity improve, so will the possibilities and application areas for robots. This will open up new opportunities for manufacturers and IT integrators as well as users” – says Rami Kabani, CEO of Action to Action LLC.
Promobot representatives also revealed that the Robo-C droids are equipped with a neural network, with which the robot is trained to consult on the company’s services. In addition to this option, the robot recognises some human emotions and uses them to select the best possible answer.
