ʻĀina Haina Public Library has added a robot to the staff. The electronic creature can greet visitors, provide simple tutorials, dance and even say, "Mele Kalikimaka." Her name? Pepper the Robot.
Pepper was gifted to the library by the Friends of the Library of Hawaiʻi. The robot did a demonstration for a crowd gathered at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
Among Pepper’s skills is the ability to read stories and sing. According to a library brochure, people can ask her things like: Where are you from? What do you eat? What is your favorite color? And can we take a selfie together?
“When we look at how do we connect people to information, ideas and things — now we're not just about books,” Stacey Aldrich, the state librarian, told Aloha State Daily after Pepper’s unveiling at the library. “This is a way of connecting people to new technology.”
Pepper has a traveling case, so there is potential for visits to other locations, Nainoa Mau, the executive director of the nonprofit Friends of the Library of Hawaiʻi, told attendees of the demonstration.
“Friends of the Library of Hawaiʻi, together with our sponsors, are proud to enhance learning in our public libraries by introducing robotics technology,” he shared in a written statement. “The Pepper Robot is a significant new resource at the ʻĀina Haina Public Library, providing the public with access to robotics and the opportunity to explore human–robot interaction.”
During the presentation, Aldrich added that some in the crowd might already have robots, such as Roombas, at home.
“We’re living in a world that is changing rapidly, and we’re seeing more robots,” Aldrich said. “We want to create opportunities for people to have more interactions. Pepper is more of a social interaction robot, and so we want people to have that experience. ... We are thinking of using her in our storytimes too — to engage kids in reading and also having a good time at the library, while they’re learning to read. Also, we can work with groups that are doing programming. She uses Python as her main programming language, so we’d love to work with people who want to help us do more with Pepper, so there are a lot of opportunities for Pepper in this space.”
The Hawaiʻi State Public Library System serves six islands: Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokai, Lānaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island. There are more than 50 branches.
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
