OSAKA — Osaka Metro Corporation is testing a programme in which humanoid robots will be stationed in Osaka Metro's customer service guidance services.  

The humanoid is currently answering passengers’ questions about transfers and nearby attractions at Umeda Station. The trial began on August 3 and will run through September 15. 

According to a press release by Osaka Metro, the humanoid is powered by Google’s Gemini generative AI and is built with KDDI Corp. and AVITA Inc., a Tokyo-based company led by Hiroshi Ishiguro, an Osaka University professor and robotics researcher.  

The release mentions that the robot has the ability to detect the tone, speed, intonation, and emotional nuances of the user's voice in real time. 

The release further says that the robot is stationed at a dedicated counter inside a Metro Opus retail shop near the ticket gates. It is working at Umeda Station on the Midosuji Line through September 6, then moves to Tanimachi 9-chome Station starting September 9, leaving a two-day gap between the two stints. 

KDDI further said the robot handles complex questions and communicates in multiple languages, including English and Chinese, but its release did not give a total language count.  

However, Kyodo News and other Japanese outlets reported the system supports roughly 60 languages. The company further stated a display on the robot also shows a QR code that passengers can scan to pull up detailed transit maps on their phones. 

Osaka Metro said the trial is meant to test whether shifting routine customer-service questions to robots could free station staff for other duties, including passenger-safety monitoring, as Japan's labor shortages persist. 

KDDI is supplying the communications and AI infrastructure, while AVITA built the robot's hardware and dialogue system, the companies said. 

It remains a trial, not a rollout: Osaka Metro has not announced whether the program will continue past September 15, how many robots a wider deployment would require or what it would cost.