by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:06 PM ET, Thu February 15, 2018
Step aside, humans. There's a new robot on the scene.
The Munich Airport and Lufthansa announced Thursday a new humanoid robot equipped with artificial intelligence will begin answering questions from travelers as part of a testing program.
Dubbed Josie Pepper, the four-feet-tall robot features round eyes, a pleasant voice, and is programmed to help passengers in the non-public area of Terminal 2 at the German airport.
Over the next several weeks, she will be stationed on the ramp leading to the shuttle connecting the main terminal to the satellite building. How passengers react to Josie Pepper during the test period will depict if she is implemented in other areas of the airport and other facilities around the world.
Josie Pepper is the first humanoid robot ever tested at an airport in Germany.
The brain of the humanoid robot is powered by a high-performance processor with a WLAN internet access. Not only is her brain connected to a cloud service linked to the airport data, but it also has the ability to learn, allowing her to answer each question individually.
Using IBM Watson Internet of Things artificial intelligence technologies, Josie Pepper was developed by the French company SoftBank Robotics and earned her name thanks to staff members working for of Munich Airport and Lufthansa.
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