Dawn’s Robot Cafe in Tokyo provides people with mental and physical disabilities with job opportunities by allowing them to operate a robot waiter from home. (Image Credit: Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe)
As part of a pilot program in inclusive employment, Michio Imai operates a robot waiter from his home in Hiroshima, 500 miles away from Dawn’s cafe, to serve customers. The Tokyo-based restaurant offers job opportunities for individuals dealing with mental and physical disabilities who find it challenging to obtain employment outside their homes.
Dawn’s cafe opened its doors in June in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district, hiring staff across Japan and overseas along with those who work on-site. It was originally scheduled to open last year to coincide with the Paralympics, but it was delayed due to the pandemic.
The robot waiter features a camera, speaker, and microphone, allowing the operator to communicate with the customers. (Image Credit: Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe)
The robot, which turns toward customers to greet them while waving its flippers, controlled by Imai, has a sleek white structure shaped like a baby penguin. Approximately 20 of these machines, called OriHime, sit at tables and various areas in the cafe, which was built without stairs and with smooth wooden floors wide enough for wheelchairs. These robots feature a mounted camera, microphone, and speaker, allowing operators to communicate with the customers.
The robots also carry a tablet showing a menu with curry, burgers, and a salad, asking the customers to take their orders. While customers converse with the operators behind the machines, three larger humanoid types serve drinks or greet others at the entrance. The cafe also features a barista robot wearing a brown apron at the bar that makes coffee using a French press.
A OriHime robot serves drinks to customers at Dawn’s Cafe. (Image Credit: Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe)
These robots also serve as a medium for workers to communicate with customers. Imai, who has a somatic symptom disorder, talks about the weather, his hometown, and his health condition. Meanwhile, other operators have various issues, including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). These patients use a special digital panel, allowing them to send signals to the machines. This pilot project was formed by Kentaro Yoshifuji, co-founder of Ory Laboratory that builds the robots.
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