Do you feel weird about being served by robot staff? what if your humanoid waiter was creating employment opportunities for flesh and blood workers living with disabilities?
It turns out that not all robots are stealing our jobs. some are making employment more inclusive. where? but of course, japan!
Reading: Dawn cafe japan
enter the dawn (network of various avatars) robot cafe. on the menu you will find vegetable stew, curry, burgers and inclusion. as well as the most positive cafe for the future of tokyo, of course.
The barrier-free, accessible cafeteria floor is packed with robot staff. there’s a robot greeting customers at the door, one to help them find a seat and one to recommend daily specials and take their orders. and then there’s the popular tele-barista, a humanoid coffee artist who’ll handle your pumpkin spice latte at the bar.
If the thought of asking Siri to order your coffee right already makes your palms sweat, know that it’s the human touch that makes this coffee special. The 120cm tall humanoids Orihime and Orihime-D serve as avatars for the human workers who remotely pilot them: the pilots are the ones who interact with the customers, suggest menu items, and make sure their cafe is just like they are. you like it
the cafe employs human pilots living with disabilities to control the robots in the cafeteria, creating inclusive hospitality jobs for workers who are homebound and, in many cases, are bedridden. Workers living with severe disabilities, referred to by Dawn’s creators as “bedridden veterans,” can use a gaze-controlled mouse, iPad, or remote control to control the robots from a wheelchair or a bed.
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according to the japan ministry of health, more than 7% of the population lives with a disability. Dawn’s goal is to “create and share opportunities for those who want to work, but are unable to do so due to medical or physical conditions,” as explained on the website. write:
“our ultimate goal is to use technology as a means to reduce the many obstacles that prevent people from participating equally in society, creating a more inclusive society where avatar robots are the norm.”
Most of Orihime’s humanoids carry iPads so customers can meet the person piloting the avatar. If you’re ordering a coffee at the tele-barista station, a remote, flesh-and-blood expert will walk you through the different beans available and even suggest the right chocolate to pair with your choice of coffee. Pilots working with the Orihime-D model can change their avatar’s eye color according to their mood on a given day, or match it to their favorite sports team, a feature added solely for pilots to express their feelings. personalities. At the back of the cafe, customers can sample Orihime and become pilots of a robot operating experience in the store (though they can’t use the robot to serve other customers).
“I believe my life has a purpose and it’s not going to waste. Being useful, being able to help other people, even feeling needed by others is very motivating.” — shota kuwahara, dawn cafe robot pilot
🤖 circuits for the brain? Test your robot knowledge with this atlas quiz and see if it’s enough to make friends with the world’s next masters.
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kentaro yoshifuji, co-founder and ceo of ory laboratory, the tech startup behind the cafe, had to be hospitalized multiple times during high school and was unable to attend school in person for long periods of time. the experience inspired him to study robotics and “to use technology to make life easier for people who could not participate in the normal social sphere, whether at work or socializing.” in 2012, his first “orihime”, a communication avatar robot to fight loneliness , won him the award for human power. the origami aficionado writes on the company’s website:
“I want to make it possible for people to meet the people they want even while they are on their sickbed, and at the same time, my goal is to create a future where everyone can participate in society.”
Sunrise’s unique concept was first put to the test with a series of pop-ups in 2018. But customers loved it so much that today, Sunrise Cafe is an enduring favorite among residents of the Nihonbashi district.
▶️ listen to the humans behind the humanoids:
atlasaction: the sunrise cafe is currently open and hosts seasonal events. you must make a reservation for a seat in sections a and b (where the robots operate). check their website and social media accounts to plan your visit.
► Robot lover? discover robots working to solve some very human challenges, proving that often robot=friend.
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