The robot that chatted with PM Modi could be selling you stuff at a mall

Robots are transiting from factory floors to being used in the retail and banking sectors

Guests attending an event to mark the launch of a new co-working space in Bengaluru last week were in for a surprise. Their host turned out to be — not a human — but a humanoid. A four-feet tall robot called Mitri welcomed them,  made the usual PowerPoint presentation, felicitated fellow speakers and later, even chatted and shook hands with everyone. 

Mitri has been built by Invento Robotics, a three-year-old start-up and the same company which made the robot that interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US presidential advisor Ivanka Trump at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad