Japan robot receptionist welcomes shoppers

A young child watches Toshiba

“My name is ChihiraAico. How do you do?” she says in Japanese, blinking and nodding to customers in the foyer of Mitsukoshi, Japan’s oldest department store chain.

Clad in an elegant traditional kimono, ChihiraAico -- a name that sounds similar to a regular Japanese woman’s name -- breaks into a rosy-lipped smile as would-be shoppers approach.