Enter the robots
K. BEGUM
THE future of the global real estate industry could be driven by Mandarin-speaking robots that cost about US$2,000 (RM7,854) in the market. The 1.4m-tall robots are being developed in a partnership between Chinese international real estate portal Juwai.com and Singou Technology.
Macau-based Singou is developing artificial intelligence (AI) robots named Butler 1 for the global real estate industry and will distribute them starting this month.
Butler 1 is intended to be used by real estate developers and agents who don’t have team members who speak Mandarin, so that they can assist Chinese buyers who come to their offices.
Because it looks friendly and can move and approach customers, it will offer a better experience than other alternatives.
Carrie Law, chief executive officer of Juwai. com, said the robots were not intended to replace agents or salespeople — but to increase the range of buyers that they can serve.
“Imagine yourself as a real estate agent who do not speak Mandarin. What do you do when a Mandarin-speaking buyer comes into your showroom? In the past, you might have lost that buyer. With Butler 1, you can give that buyer a feeling of being welcomed and understood.
“You can learn what they are looking for and what possibilities are there for you to help them. And you can move them towards a transaction if it fits their needs on a property that you are marketing,” she told NST Property.
Law said the robots were also designed to help offices that don’t have a Mandarin speaker.
In offices that do, the robot could assist the receptionist in greeting Mandarin speakers until the Mandarin-speaking agent or salesperson comes, she said.
Law said a huge number of Chinese robots to date are relatively low-tech and stationary, mainly manufacturing robots used in factories and assembly plants.
She said robots like the Butler 1 are service