In December 2016, EVA Air introduced a new member of its customer-service team at Taipei’s Songshan International Airport and Taoyuan International Airport.
Named Pepper, the interactive robot greets passengers, scans boarding passes, and provides departure details and destination weather updates. Pepper also offers information about duty-free offers and EVA promotions. Beyond practical assistance, Pepper engages travelers by playing games, shaking hands, dancing, and posing for photos.
EVA Air deployed two robots configured for passenger service. One stands in front of the international check-in counter at Songshan, while the other serves as a greeter in the reception area between the exclusive Infinity and Star VIP Lounges at Taoyuan. Passengers can interact with Pepper using a touchscreen and through its expressive eyes and voice.
At launch, Pepper understood and responded in Chinese; the airline planned to add English and Japanese language capabilities by March 2017, along with several additional features to improve passenger interaction and convenience.
Pepper combines multiple technologies: it has 20 flexible joints and 27 sensors, measures 48 inches in height, and weighs 64 pounds. Since EVA Air’s adoption, other organizations in Taiwan—including the Bank of Taiwan and the Pingtung County government—have also employed the friendly robot for customer-facing roles.
The robot’s technology was developed by Japanese company SoftBank, and the unit was manufactured by Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn).