AI-powered robotic salespeople could be deployed in UK car dealerships for a Chinese car manufacturer soon.
Omoda and Jaecoo owner Chery has debuted a robot sales assistant, named ‘Mornine’, at the Shanghai Motor Show today (April 23) that can greet customers, make them tea and coffee and show them around a car.
Chery said the AI robot, which learns from interactions with customers, has been trialled in showrooms in Malaysia and if successful could be rolled out worldwide.
The car maker said Mornine has capabilities including perception, cognition, decision making and task execution and explained the ‘ideal use case’ was for ‘dealer-level admin and service’.
The car brand’s robotics experts said Mornine uses speech and vision inputs that allow it to ‘accurately interpret commands including physical gestures’.
Ian Wallace, spokesperson for Chery’s Omoda and Jaecoo brands in the UK, said Mornine could even be offered for use in people’s homes in the future if showroom trials go well.
He said: ‘Mornine is an intelligent showroom aid. She can show customers around a vehicle, she can answer questions and she can make teas and coffees, so in a busy showroom environment, if staff are tied up, she’s there to be a helpful face of the brand.
‘She has learning capabilities so she can react to commands and learn your voice so if you were to use her in a household environment she would start to learn what you like and don’t like.’
Chery said the robot uses ‘automotive-grade hardware’ to allow it to walk upright and it has ‘dexterous hands’ to allow it to grip items.