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Costa Diadema Welcomes Pepper, The Humanoid Robot Able To Interact With Guests
Costa Cruises is bringing 5 latest generation robots on board theflagship of the fleet, to entertain guests during their vacations.
Genoa, 12July 2016 – Onboard Costa Diadema, flagship of the Costa Cruises fleet, was presented Pepper, the first robot in the world able to recognizemain human emotions and proactively interact with the surrounding environment.Starting from today, five Pepper robots willbe operative on all 7-day cruises of the Costa's flagship in the WesternMediterranean: their task will be to entertainguests, making their on board experience even more unique and unforgettable.
Thisinnovation, unique in the cruise industry, is the result of an agreement signedbetween the Italian cruise company and SoftBank Robotics (formerly Aldebaran), partof SoftBank Group, announced late last year.
Launchedin 2014 in Tokyo, Pepper is well equipped with features and a high-levelinterface for communicating with those around him, using the latest advances invoice 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 internationalclientele.
"Thanks to the introduction of these robotson board Costa Diadema, Costa Cruises confirms once again its great spirit ofinnovation. Our goal is to amaze people that choose to spend their holidayswith us and to go beyond their expectations offering something unforgettable. Iam convinced that being able to interact with Pepper will be an incredibleexperience for all our guests" – declared Neil Palomba, President of CostaCruises.
"We are pleased that Costa Group wasthe first to welcome Pepper on board to offer a unique and fun experience. Wehope that Costa's travellers will enjoy even more their journey and that Pepperwill successfully accomplish his mission to entertain them." said FumihideTomizawa, President of SoftBank Robotics Corp.
Costa Diadema's guests can meet the robots in 5areas of the ship. In addition to answering to direct questions addressed to him,Pepper is able to drawing attention and starting an interaction when peoplecome close to him. His funniest features are linked to entertainment: Peppercan dance with guests, involve them in games or propose to take souvenirselfies posing.
As well as make people smile, the robots are ableto provide guests with very useful information for their holiday concerning theship and the onboard services, such as those about restaurants and bars,excursions, activities program, spa and shops. He is also able to provideguidance about destinations included in the cruise itinerary, that in the caseof Costa Diadema are Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma, Cagliari andCivitavecchia. Finally, Pepper can ask guests for their opinion about thecruise experience and the main onboard services.
Followingthis trial on Costa Diadema, from September 2016, another one will take placewith 5 more Pepper robots on board Costa Fascinosa, another ship of the Costa'sfleet that offer 7-day cruises in the Mediterranean.
Pepper in figures:
120 cm
29 kg12hours of battery
6 lasers
3D camera
2 2Dcameras
10-inchtouch screen tablet
About SoftBankRobotics
SoftBankRobotics is driving technology forward by becoming a worldwide leader brand inrobotics. The SoftBank Robotics brand name regroups more than 500 employeesworking in Paris, Tokyo, San Francisco, Boston and Shanghai. Robots under theSoftBank Robotics brand, Pepper, NAO and Romeo, are used in more than 70countries worldwide and offer innovative applications relevant for the fieldsof research, education, retail, healthcare, tourism, hospitality andentertainment.
For more information:www.ald.softbankrobotics.com
Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises is the ItalianCruising Company part of the Carnival Corporation & plc, the largest cruisecompany in the world. For 67 years, the ships of Costa fleet have plied theseas of the world being the ambassador of the pleasant mood of Italianhospitality and the true Italian holiday, with delicious food, selected wines,unique shopping experience, completed by a vast selection of Italian famousbrands. Currently the Costa fleet, the largest in Europe, has a total of 15ships in service, all flying the Italian flag. Moreover two next-generationcruise ships will be delivered in 2019 and 2021: they will feature arevolutionary "green design" and will be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas(LNG), the world's cleanest burning fossil fuel, representing a majorenvironmental breakthrough. Costa embodies the Italian excellence surprisingits Guests everyday with unique holidays experiences and unforgettable memoriesthanks to 19,000 Costa's associates worldwide who are passionately workingeveryday to offer "Italy's finest" cruise vacations through 137different itineraries, 261 destinations and 60 embarkation ports.
For further information:
Costa Cruises
Press office - Tel. +39 010 5483523 / 010 5483068 - costapressoffice@costa.it
Gabriele Baroni – Communication Director – cell. +39 3497668013 -baroni@costa.it
Davide Barbano – Media Relations Manager – cell. +39 334 6525216 –barbano@costa.it
Press releases and photos available at www.costapresscenter.com
SoftBank Robotics (Formerly Aldebaran)
AuroreChiquot – Communications Director - +33 (0)181720268 – achiquot@aldebaran.com
VincentSamuel – PR Manager - +33 (0)181720287 – vsamuel@aldebaran.com
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