SM’s got it all for you — including robots!

MANILA, Philippines — ‘We genuinely want to change people’s lives for the better, make memories and gain new experiences in our malls,’ says SM Supermalls COO Steven Tan.

Ever since I read Ray Bradbury’s short story “I Sing the Body Electric,” which is about a family that buys a robot grandmother to help raise three children who have just lost their mother, I wanted one too. We’re centuries from factory robots that can console us, wipe away our tears and love us.

But service robots — now we’re talking! They’re not a figment of writers’ imaginaitons anymore. They’re here — or at least will be here in 2019.

SM Supermalls introduced a customer-service robot during a recent event at Mall of Asia. They’re not here to replace the mall’s front liners, sales or customer service staff, but to help them and provide a “fun, engaging way for customers to get information and give them a memorable experience.” 

SM Supermalls chief operating officer Steven Tan says, “Technology only enhances what humans do best. We see technology, or in this case, robots, to help enhance our customer-service activities. The country’s first ever in-mall smart customer-service robots will provide mall directions, information on deals, promotions, events and happenings. Customer service is at the core of everything that we do, we always aim to make the shopping experience easy, enjoyable and seamless. New technology is a great way to deliver customer service in a fun, novel way.”

Today you have AIs built to sort and fold laundry, so why not to give you directions in a mall or tell you which stores are having a sale?   

For this, they partnered with the New Kinpo Group, a Taiwan-based tech company that specializes in global electronic and original design manufacturing services, and robotics.

Steven adds that this idea had its roots in the company’s exposure to cutting-edge technology through their seven malls in China, which over the years have won international awards for innovative tech activities and interactive games.

“We take our SM China learnings home and try them out in the Philippine market. SM Supermalls carries a strong innovation mindset and it’s our credo to innovate to create a better tomorrow. We genuinely want to change people’s lives for the better. We want them to make memories and gain new experiences in our malls. Experience is everything. When customers leave our malls feeling like they’ve seen, tasted, felt, experienced something they’ve never known before, and are excited and happy about it – we know we’ve played a part in enriching their lives and bringing a new point of view.”

The “learning” is mutual.  The robots are machine-learning AIs, and so with more customers interacting with them, the more they become smarter. I guess the most simple example we have is how Google stores into its memory our past activities online which helps predict the kind of ads it puts out when we surf or what possible things we will search for.

When can we expect our little robot friends in SM Malls? Steven says, “We’re running a pilot test of the customer service robots at SM Megamall and will deploy three, stationed in different parts of the mall. Eventually we plan to roll out more robots in SM Mall of Asia, SM Aura Premier and SM Seaside City Cebu.” 

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Visit the author’s travel blog  at www.findingmyway.net. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @iamtanyalara.