Interest

Toshiba's 'Chihira Aico' Robot's Department Store Debut is a Big Hit

The Mitsukoshi department store brought on Toshiba's Chihara Aico as a temporary receptionist last month to test out her in-development voice recognition software. While she isn't as advanced as some of her other employed robot peers, Toshiba is taking Aico on the road to promote her capabilities to businesses.

Toshiba has plans to expand its robotics business outside of customer service and into healthcare, especially as companions for Japan's aging population. The company hopes to see more of its robots at work by the year 2020.