Genoa, 12 July 2016 – Onboard Costa Diadema, flagship of the Costa Cruises fleet, was presented Pepper, the first robot in the world able to recognize main human emotions and proactively interact with the surrounding environment. Starting from today, five Pe pper robots will be operative on all 7-day cruises of the Costa’s flagship in the Western Mediterraneean: their task will be to entertain guests, making their on board experience even more unique and unforgettable.
This innovation, unique in the cruise industry, is the result of an agreement signed between the Italian cruise company and SoftBank Robotics (formerly Aldebaran), part of SoftBank Group, announced late last year. Launched in 2014 in Tokyo, Pepper is well equipped with features and a hig h-level interface for communicating with those around him, using the latest advances in voice and face recognition. Onboard Costa Diadema, Peppe r is able to speak 3 different languages - Italian, English and French – so to better interact with the Costa’s international clientele.
“Thanks to the introduction of these robots on board Costa Diadema, Costa Cruises confirms once again its great spirit of innovation. Our goal is to amaze people that choose to spend their holidays with us and to go beyond their expectations offering something unforgettable. I am convinced that being able to interact with Pepper will be an incredible experience for all our guests” – declared Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises. “We are pleased that Costa Gro up was the first to welcome Pepper on board to offer a unique and fun experience. We hope that Costa’s travellers will enjoy even more their journey and that Pepper will successfully accomplish his mission to entertain them.” said Fumihide To mizawa, President of SoftBank Robotics Corp.
Costa Diadema’s guests can me et the robots in 5 areas of the ship. In addition t o answering to direct questions addressed to him, Pepper is able to drawing attention and starting an interaction when people come close to him. His f unniest features are linked to entertainment: Pe pper can dance with guests, involve them in games o r propose to take souvenir selfies posing. As well as make people smile, t he robots are able to provide guests with very useful information for their holiday concerning the ship and the onboard services, such as those ab out restaurants and bars, excursions, activities pro gram, spa and shops. He is also able to pro vide guidance about destinations included in the cruise itinerary, that in the case of Costa Diadema are Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma, Cagliari and Civitavecchia. Finally, Pepper can ask guests for their opinion about the cruise experience and the main onboard services.
Following this trial on Costa Diad ema, from September 2016, another one will take place with 5 more Pepper robots on board Costa Fascinosa, another ship of the Costa’s fleet that offer 7-day cruises in the Mediterranean. Source and Photos: www.costapresscenter.com
