Train company JR East have produced a robot assistant to aid commuters from within stations. ‘I’, the information android is 120 cm (4ft) tall, weighs 50kg (110lb). It travels around the station on wheels and has the ability to spin on the spot if need be. ‘I’ offers a wealth of information to passengers wishing to travel on any JR East service; it can read Suica cards (JR’s electronic train pass), provide detailed travel information via its stomach (just like a teletubby), and more impressively, direct passengers to the nearest restrooms.

Despite performing poorly in recent tests, ‘I’ seems to be a hit regardless - “Customers find the robot entertaining,” said the research director of JR East. “There are still a number of issues that we need to address, but it can be used to create some amusement in the stations.”

Let’s hope that ‘I’ won’t spend the rest of its days telling people their weight for 100 yen a go.

Via Pink Tentacle.

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