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Rahul Preeth
Doha
One look at 11-year-old Jassim and his twin sister Noor, you will see what the future of banking looks like in Qatar ” endearing, hi-tech and not exactly human.
On Wednesday, Al Khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji) introduced in Doha two human-like robots capable of doing some of its customer service operations hitherto carried out by its staff. According to the bank, the humanoid robots are a first of their kind in Qatar.
Nick-named Jassim and Noor, these four-foot tall bots with wide-eyes and built-in touch screens use artificial intelligence (AI) and a raft of other technologies to replicate some human behaviour and functionality.
That, however, does not mean they are here to initiate an eventual replacement of staff from the bank. They will rather help the lender usher in technologies like AI into banking in Qatar.
"Jassim and Noor will be our ambassadors," said Nishith Srivastava, al khaliji senior manager for product management, referring to the bank's pursuit of technological integration into its daily operations.
The robots are developed by Tokyo-based Softbank Robotics, a force to be reckoned with in the production of interactive humanoid robots. Jassim and Noor were created in 2007 and have been with what can be called the innovation lab of al khaliji for the past three years.
To begin with, the robots will be deployed at select branches, where they will help customers with their questions and guide them through the processes.
At a demonstration organised for the media at the Um Lekhba branch, the robots responded to a combination of touch and voice commands.
Srivastava tapped Jassim on head to switch him on and turned him off with a"go to sleep" voice command. In between, he asked Jassim a set of questions like"why are you here?" and"what do you do?". Jassim was enthusiastic but courteous in his replies, with prompt apologies if he did not register a question."Some days I don't do well. Please repeat," he would chime in.
Jassim and Noor are designed to be genuine day-to-day companions and guides. They are first humanoid robots capable of recognising the principal human emotions and adapting its behaviour to the mood of those they interact with, the bank said in a statement.
Doha
One look at 11-year-old Jassim and his twin sister Noor, you will see what the future of banking looks like in Qatar ” endearing, hi-tech and not exactly human.
On Wednesday, Al Khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji) introduced in Doha two human-like robots capable of doing some of its customer service operations hitherto carried out by its staff. According to the bank, the humanoid robots are a first of their kind in Qatar.
Nick-named Jassim and Noor, these four-foot tall bots with wide-eyes and built-in touch screens use artificial intelligence (AI) and a raft of other technologies to replicate some human behaviour and functionality.
That, however, does not mean they are here to initiate an eventual replacement of staff from the bank. They will rather help the lender usher in technologies like AI into banking in Qatar.
"Jassim and Noor will be our ambassadors," said Nishith Srivastava, al khaliji senior manager for product management, referring to the bank's pursuit of technological integration into its daily operations.
The robots are developed by Tokyo-based Softbank Robotics, a force to be reckoned with in the production of interactive humanoid robots. Jassim and Noor were created in 2007 and have been with what can be called the innovation lab of al khaliji for the past three years.
To begin with, the robots will be deployed at select branches, where they will help customers with their questions and guide them through the processes.
At a demonstration organised for the media at the Um Lekhba branch, the robots responded to a combination of touch and voice commands.
Srivastava tapped Jassim on head to switch him on and turned him off with a"go to sleep" voice command. In between, he asked Jassim a set of questions like"why are you here?" and"what do you do?". Jassim was enthusiastic but courteous in his replies, with prompt apologies if he did not register a question."Some days I don't do well. Please repeat," he would chime in.
Jassim and Noor are designed to be genuine day-to-day companions and guides. They are first humanoid robots capable of recognising the principal human emotions and adapting its behaviour to the mood of those they interact with, the bank said in a statement.
