One of the robots developed by Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories of Advanced Telecommunications Research International, Robovie-II, stands 114 cm tall, is designed to detect and approach shoppers wandering around "aimlessly" and provide them with directions.

Wakamaru, a product of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., was built to "guess" what a shopper might need by the sign the shopper appears to be looking at. The robot then displays on its monitor information it "thinks" the shopper seeks.

The robots are linked with each other through a network and provide their best service as an ensemble, according to ATR, a private research institute in Seika, Kyoto Prefecture, and one of the sponsors of the experiment.

A total of seven robots took part in the trial.