Japan’s largest maid cafe chain has partnered with a tech company to install AI-powered translation screens, enhancing the experience for foreign tourists and customers with hearing impairments.
Advertisement
One of At-home Cafe‘s locations in Akihabara, Tokyo’s vibrant centre of otaku culture and maid cafes, began using these cutting-edge artificial intelligence screens, which support over 100 languages, in January, as reported by Japanese newspaper Nikkei Shimbun on February 10.
The screen, known as VUEVO Display, was developed by Pixie Dust Technologies, Inc. in collaboration with Tsukuba University.
This transparent screen, radiating a soothing baby pink light, provides real-time translations of the maids’ prompts, displaying the translations for customers seated opposite the maids.
Hitomi, the cafe‘s star maid, emphasised the importance of the screen’s transparency, allowing customers to see the maids’ expressions and gestures through it.
The rental fee for the screen is reported to be 900,000 yen (US$6,000) per year.