Hotel staffed by humanoid robots set to open in Japan this summer

The world's first hotel staffed entirely by robots is set to open in Japan later this year, promoted with the slogan "a commitment for evolution".

The Henn-na Hotel will open in the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki Prefecture in July with the hope that by employing "actroid androids" - robots that mimic humans - it will be able to significantly reduce costs.

10 robots will staff the 72-room hotel, capable of cleaning rooms, transporting luggage and greeting guests at the hotel's reception. Rooms will range in price from ¥7,000 (£39) to ¥14,000 (£77).

"We will make the most efficient hotel in the world," said Hideo Sawada, president of Huis Ten Bosch, according to the Japan Times. "In the future, we'd like to have more than 90% of hotel services operated by robots."

The humanoid robots will be able to speak fluent Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English, and will have human characteristics such as breathing, blinking and making eye contact.

Other unique features of the hotel include replacing room keys with facial-recognition software and selling rooms through a bidding system

'Robot revolution'

It is the latest in a wave of automation taking place in Japan and news of it opening follows an announcement by Japan's largest bank that it will be trialling a customer-service robot in select branches.

The Nao robot uses cameras to analyse customer's emotions and a microphone to judge their mood by their tone of voice.

Nestle Japan is another company planning to roll out robots into its workforce later this year, introducing the autonomous Pepper to sell coffee machines in up to 1,000 outlets.

The initiatives follow an appeal last year from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to invest in "non-human resources" in order to bring about a "robot revolution".

A government report laying out the country's intentions stated: "The government will seek to improve (factory) productivity through the utilisation of robot technology, thereby improving the profitability of companies and helping to raise wages."