Costa Cruises employed five latest generation humanoid robots on board the flagship of the fleet to entertain guests during their vacations. Onboard Costa Diadema was presented Pepper, the first robot in the world able to recognize main human emotions and proactively interact with the surrounding environment.
Five Pepper robots will be operative on all 7-day cruises of the Costa’s flagship in the Western Mediterranean: their task will be toentertain 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 high-level interface for communicating with those around him, using the latest advances in voice and face recognition. Onboard Costa Diadema, Pepper 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.
Costa Diadema’s guests can meet the robots in 5 areas of the ship. In addition to answering to direct questions addressed to him, Pepper is able to drawing attention and starting an interaction when people come close to him. His funniest features are linked to entertainment: Pepper can dance with guests, involve them in games or propose to take souvenir selfies posing.
Following this trial on Costa Diadema, 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: Carnival Corp.
