Is Terminator that far behind? A Japanese company has introduced a new application for their humanoid robot acting as a Buddhist priest for hire at funerals.
They put the robot on display at a funeral industry trade show in Tokyo chanting sutras in a computerized voice while tapping a drum.
The funeral robot could step in when a priest is not available. It also cost less at 50,000 yen (about $450) per funeral compared to more than 240,000 yen ($2,200) for a human priest.
Buddhist priest Tetsugi Matsuo came to the expo to see if Pepper could “impart the ‘heart’ aspect to a machine because he believes that the ‘heart’ is the foundation of religion.”
The robot has not yet been hired for a funeral.