The Nihombashi Café Where Avatar Robots Facilitate Human Connections

Avatar Robot Café is a place where the housebound can work as service staff through the use of remote-controlled robots.

robot_1 — At Avatar Robot Café, OriHime robots act as avatars for their “pilots,” or operators, whose name and face are shown on a little monitor. Tonomura Seiji

Enabling the Housebound to Take Command

A 42.5-inch tall OriHime-D robot slowly made its way along a guideline on the floor to greet us, stopping next to our table to offer a tray of drinks. "Hello. Welcome to DAWN. Please help yourself to some water," said Ito, the robot's "pilot," or operator, who goes by her last name only. We could see her picture, along with her nickname, on a little name tag monitor on the robot's chest.

DAWN is an acronym for Diverse Avatar Working Network. The Avatar Robot Café DAWN ver.β opened in Chuo City, in Nihombashi, Tokyo, in 2021. It utilizes the OriHime robot series, which can be remotely controlled by a mouse or the tracking of eye motions. The robots act as avatars for their pilots, who move them around based on what they can see of their surroundings from a camera on the robot's forehead, as well as what they hear through a microphone. The robots can perform simple movements, such as nodding their head or raising their hand, all through eye tracking technology. Using the microphone and speakers, pilots can communicate as if they were standing right there. The robots have been introduced into corporate reception areas and are also gaining attention as a means of helping children who have chronic or terminal illnesses attend their classes remotely from a hospital.

Ito, our server during our visit, is a resident of Akishima City, Tokyo. She was operating the OriHime-D robot while engaged in a battle against cancer and recuperating at home. Ito has a weakened immune system due to her chemotherapy. This makes it difficult for her to go outside and mingle with others. She also has had to use a wheelchair and cane to get around because the cancer has spread to her bones, and she is prone to fractures.

robot_2 — At the entrance to Avatar Robot Café, an OriHime-D robot welcomes customers, who can choose to sit at OriHime tables, to receive service from the robots, or at self-service tables. Tonomura Seiji

Yoshifuji Ory, the developer of OriHime and the CEO of Ory Laboratory, the Tokyo-based company behind Avatar Robot Café, said that he wanted to create an assistive device that could help mitigate the loneliness that people feel when they are unable to go outside and participate in society.

"I have a friend who is bedridden with a terminal illness," said Yoshifuji. "He once told me that the biggest challenge of not being able to move around freely is that you don't get to have those daily encounters and new discoveries."

"The goal behind Avatar Robot Café," Yoshifuji explained, "was to create an opportunity for people who have never worked before to take their first steps into the working world. I figured a café would be the perfect environment for us to conduct a social experiment that could involve our customers, as well. It would be a way to show that teleworking is a viable alternative to manual labor."

robot_3 — Yoshifuji Ory, the developer of OriHime and CEO of Ory Laboratory, was motivated to create Avatar Robot Café by the experience of a friend with terminal illness. Courtesy of OryLab Inc.

Toward a Japanese Model of an Inclusive Society

"Hello, my name is Yui. I will be assisting you at this table today. Do you know how to order?" said a small OriHime robot, piloted by Higashuikawa Yui, that stood atop one of the tables. Customers can access the café's menu online and place their orders by scanning a QR code with their smartphone.

Pilot Yui lives all the way in Fukuoka prefecture. She was born with cerebral palsy and has difficulty using her arms and legs. She used to work at a regular company in a wheelchair, but she often felt anxious on days when she could not attend in person due to bad weather or a flare-up of her condition.

"There are many clerical job offerings for people in wheelchairs," Higashuikawa said, "but I just love talking to people, so I think I'm better suited to the service industry. I may not be able to physically come in to work, but I can use a fully remote-controlled robot to engage with customers." Higashuikawa explained, "It took some getting used to, but now I even use the robot to train new pilots as well as to carry out my regular customer service. I find it all very rewarding."

robot_4 — These are not AI robots—they are operated by real people. Yoshifuji designed the robots’ faces after Noh masks to make them look as universal as possible and to retain a sense of Japanese culture. Tonomura Seiji

There are about 70 pilots involved in the program, all of whom have circumstances that prevent them from leaving the house to work. Some are people with disabilities or terminal illnesses; some are people with mobility issues living overseas who, due to a lack of foreigner-friendly workplaces within their range of accessibility, are unable to secure employment; and some are caregivers who are unable to leave their home due to a family member's needs. Some of the pilots, having gained new social experience through the project, have been scouted for new jobs. There has also been an increasing number of visitors from abroad. Overall, the response to the café seems to be overwhelmingly positive.

"We are living in an aging society where there are going to be more and more people using breathing apparatuses and wheelchairs," Yoshifuji said. "We want to change people's mindsets from 'I can't do that' to 'Yes, I can!'"

robot_5 — A pilot trained as a barista remotely controls Avatar Robot Café’s Tele-Barista. Tonomura Seiji

There is plenty of room in the café for robots and wheelchairs to move around, and customers and pilots engage in lively conversation. Remote pilots also check in on one another. Sometimes the robots lose their bearings and spin in circles, and sometimes there are communication breakdowns, but that's all part of the charm of the café.

"I hope that when the world sees what we're doing at Avatar Robot Café," Yoshifuji said, "people will take it as an opportunity to reflect on what such a style of working might mean for their own well-being." The Avatar Robot Café DAWN ver.β and Yoshifuji's OriHime robot series won the Good Design Award in 2021.

robot_6 — The café serves sandwiches, desserts and other dishes. Mixers and blenders are used for meals for children or people with swallowing difficulties. Tonomura Seiji

Yoshifuji hopes that customers can enjoy the process in its entirety, mishaps and all. It's those mishaps that can actually become the turning point when it comes to the advancement of robotics. Every customer who visits the café is a participant in a public experiment paving the way to the future.