Robots sales assistants are working in Russian supermarkets
Robots have been unleashed in Russian supermarkets to chat to customers they can even recognize if they are regulars - and help them with their shopping. In a world first, the so-called Promobots work alongside regular employees to chat to customers about discounts and promotions and even demonstrate new products. They have been unveiled at the Russian chain of Lenta shops in Moscow and are proving popular as people have been making special journeys just to interact with them. The Promobots have groundbreaking facial recognition software which allows them to recognise regular customers as they walk autonomously around the aisles. Oleg Kivokurtsev, Promobot's Director of Development explained: "Each of the seven supermarkets introduces one robot as a consultant. Now, we can confidently say that this is the largest implementation of autonomous service robots in retail, at the moment."