Have you spotted these robots around Expo?
The future is here: Bots deliver food, tell jokes and guide visitors at world fair
‘ Wait, let me get my swag on,” says Opti as he covers his eyes with sunglasses and waves hello. The one-metretall orange-coloured robot is the official mascot and guardian of Mission Possible — The Opportunity Pavilion — you can find him around the walkways of Expo 2020 Dubai, dancing with his buddies and cracking a few jokes.
Mohammad Al Hashmi, Chief Innovation Technology Officer of Expo 2020 Dubai, told Gulf News: “Expo 2020 will deploy more than 150 Terminus robots to interact with visitors during the six-month event, each of which include advanced 5G communication capabilities, as well as AI-driven object mapping and detection.”
Beijing-based artificial intelligence service provider, Terminus, is also behind Tala-bot, a coffee table on wheels that helps you order from your favourite restaurants once the QR code on it is scanned.
Crowd favourite
Another crowd favourite is a one-armed robot server from the future, and quite the capable chap. The Estonia Pavilion’s Yanu can take your order, pour your choice of beverage and handle the payment, too.
The friendly one
The friendliest robot in town, Opti is a treat for young visitors. This little guy participates in Expo parades and flash mobs, stands upright, moves freely and operates safely for 24 hours straight.
Along with Opti, there’s a patrol bot which ‘protects’ the site as well as the dedicated Expo 2020 Metro Station. Facial recognition, SOS button, thermal camera, are some of the functions this one is capable of. It also reminds you to stay in your lanes, observe social distancing along with other Covid-19 protocols that are to be followed on site. Besides them, delivery robots are the workhorses of Expo.