This coronavirus robot knows when you’re not wearing a mask – and will tell you to put one on
- 120cm-tall droid, known as Pepper, is used in some countries to welcome visitors to shops, exhibitions and other public spaces
- It uses a camera to scan approaching people to see if their faces are covered
Engineers have developed a robot that can detect whether people are wearing a mask to guard against Covid-19 and, if not, politely remind them to put one on.
The feature is an upgrade of Pepper, a 120cm (47 inch) tall robot with human-like features that is already in operation in some countries welcoming visitors to shops, exhibitions and other public spaces.
Pepper’s camera scans the faces of people approaching it, and if it detects the lower half of their face is uncovered, it pronounces the phrase: “You have to always wear a mask properly.”
If it sees that the visitor then puts on a mask, the robot follows up with the phrase: “Thank you for having put on your mask.”
The idea is not to have a robot police whether people are wearing masks, but to provide a friendly reminder, said Jonathan Boiria, head of sales in Europe for SoftBank Robotics, the company behind Pepper.