Robot reminds Japan shoppers to wear masks

The robot nicknamed "Robovie" has been deployed at a sports store in the city of Osaka in an experiment by Kyoto-based research institute ATR, which built the electronic clerk.

TOKYO (AFP): Asking someone to put on a mask is a touchy subject, so one shop in Japan has enlisted a robot to make sure its customers wear them during the pandemic.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but please wear a mask," says the small humanoid machine after wheeling up to a bare-faced shopper, in a demonstration video released by its developers.