GabyIn Japan, the future often seems to arrive faster than elsewhere: Japanese developers of the MaSiRo project have presented their latest invention — inspired by anime, they built three robots to serve customers in cafés.
The oldest in the MaSiRo family.
The first robot in the project was created back in 2019: the robotic anime girl was named MaSiRo. Funding for the MaSiRo project came from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan. The development team was tasked with creating a concept for a café with robot waiters where guests could interact with them.
Video:MaSiRo Project
At first, MaSiRo could only follow a person by holding their hand, but over the years developers taught her to serve food and drinks and to move autonomously. MaSiRo wears a maid uniform and functions as the head waitress. The robotic girl is equipped with facial recognition through a built-in camera mounted on her headband. She can move her neck, nod at guests, and look at them with eyes that are liquid crystal displays.
The robot’s right arm houses a portable heater to warm visitors’ hands in cold weather. MaSiRo also uses that arm to guide guests to available tables. She can wave goodbye to customers and pose for photos. MaSiRo performs the main waitress task — taking orders via a QR code that visitors receive upon entry.
Younger sisters of MaSiRo
The team later developed two younger assistants, the sisters CiRo and CiYa, who entertain customers while they wait for their orders. The anime twins can recognize faces, hold customers’ hands, and guide them to free seats. Unlike their older sister, their cameras are not on the head but in the robots’ ears; the developers say this allows a wider variety of hairstyles, accessories, and decorations to create different waitress looks.
Will there be a machine uprising?
The Terminator saga starring Arnold Schwarzenegger has left many of us primed to expect a machine uprising. Developers have even created a robot similar to the “liquid” Terminator T-1000 — one that can change state, becoming liquid and then returning to solid. The MaSiRo team doesn’t share those doomsday concerns: the company’s robots include an emergency shutdown button to prevent MaSiRo from going out of control.
Work in every family!
Developers say café service is only the first stage of the project: the creators dream of a world where every household has its own maid robot. The MaSiRo team is also working on giving the robots speech, but current technology doesn’t yet allow MaSiRo and her sisters to hold full conversations.
Appearance = practicality + anime culture
The robots are small and childlike in appearance; the developers say this is intentional. Taller robots have a higher center of gravity, which increases the risk of falling, and larger machines are harder to transport.
Japan’s anime industry has huge economic weight: the country’s annual anime turnover exceeds $20 billion, covering animation, video games, merchandise, and more. When robots that can help with everyday household tasks arrive, I’ll pick a robotic housekeeper with a very different look. What kind? That’s a secret.
