Robot guides come aboard cruise ships

Step on board an AIDA or Costa Cruises ship in 2016 and you’ll be greeted by a friendly little robot named Pepper. The 120-centimetre futuristic bot is the first in the world that is programmed to read human emotions and will guide passengers around the ship and give helpful tips on dining, excursions and entertainment in one of three languages. Pepper glides easily around on three omnidirectional wheels and has 17 joints for graceful, fluid movements. His 3D camera and voice-recognition system detect emotion and take into account his surroundings, so he interacts with people in an authentic and realistic fashion. Pepper is happily humming around decks of AIDAPrima and Costa Diadema right now.