Japan eyes robots to support aging population

In guide mode, it will detect a newcomer and approach the person with a nod and a greeting: "Are you a visitor? Hello."

Visitors requiring directions can point to icons displayed on enon's chest screen. If the restroom icon is pressed, the screen will display a map that shows the way.

The robot will then face and point in the direction of the restroom, although it won't actually walk the visitor there.

Enon is now in use at four locations in Japan, including a shopping mall near Tokyo. One goal might be to make it more helpful for the elderly.

"People who work in the transportation sector often ask whether we can build a robot that will find elderly people who look lost in train stations, and ask them if they are all right," said Toshihiko Morita, director of Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd's autonomous system laboratory.

"Actually that is hard to do, very hard," he said.

(Additional reporting by Emi Foulk)