Henn-na Hotel – Hotel Run Completely By Robots Opens In Japan!
The Henn-na Hotel, a hotel completely run by ‘android’ like robots, has finally opened in Japan.
Henn-na Hotel translates to “weird hotel” in English, and it is fully automated. Upon checking in to the Henn-na, a female humanoid robot greets you at the reception desk. Her skin, hair and features are totally life-like, and she speaks flawless Japanese as she blinks at you alluringly. Don’t speak Japanese? That’s all right, at the Henn-na Hotel, there is a dinosaur-like android with a bow-tie on its neck – sort of a Raptor Bell Boy – that speaks English and will answer any questions you might have about the Henn-na Hotel.
Robots do check-in and check-out at cost-cutting Japan hotel. http://t.co/wtd1sHpOvr pic.twitter.com/R4RzuMroq8
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) July 17, 2015
What does a futuristic stay at the Henn-na Hotel cost? It may surprise you just how affordable an overnight romp with automated androids is. The designer of the Henn-na Hotel – a sort of pseudo John Hammond in the making – wanted to make the stay affordable for the average family, and not just a destination for the super rich. One night in the Henn-na Hotel runs an average of $80.
Robots on reception: an exclusive look at the world’s first robot hotel http://t.co/9oXBWn1g8J pic.twitter.com/AzpmF9G0Ic
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 16, 2015
The Henn-na Hotel is in the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki, in Southwestern Japan. It’s creator, Hideo Sawada stated that the hotel was created to demonstrate technological growth and heightened service industry efficiency.
“I wanted to highlight innovation. I also wanted to do something about hotel prices going up.”
Not only do the robot employees of the Henn-na Hotel draw lodgers via their uniqueness, they are also saving the hotel loads of money. Labor costs are virtually spent completely up front, with the cost of maintaining the android servants less than the cost of a human staff’s payroll. The entire hotel is solar-powered, making the day-to-day energy costs of the Henn-na Hotel minimal. The owners of the hotel also insist that the robotic staff is far more efficient than a human staff could ever hope to be.
There are no key cards in the Henn-na Hotel. A guest identification system records the appearance of the guests digitally upon check-in, and the doors then recognize the guests throughout their stay at the Henn-na through advanced facial recognition software. Additionally, the thermostats in each of the hotel’s rooms monitor the guests’ body temperature and adjusts the heating and cooling of the space to suit each individuals desires.
A robot within each room named ‘Tuly’ acts like a personal assistant for each guest. The teddy bear-sized robot can switch the lights on and off, recite the local forecast and contact guest services.
Perhaps the Henn-na Hotel is a glimpse into the future, when all hotels will be completely staffed by android-type robots.
[Photo by SeeJapan.com]
