Paul' greets Saturn customers at the entrance, welcomes them warmly and guides them to the products they are looking for on request. Although 'Paul' proves to be a charming conversationalist for various small talk topics, the robot is not yet suitable for advising customers. However, he can call on his human colleagues for support at any time via Voice over IP. Before 'Paul' says goodbye and rolls back to the entrance, he asks a few feedback questions to find out how the interaction with him is received by customers. "By using 'Paul', we are offering our customers the opportunity to get to know one of the most advanced robots in the world," explains Martin Wild, Chief Digital Officer of Media-Saturn-Holding.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA originally developed the prototype of the interactive robot as an assistance robot for active support in the home, for hotels, care homes or hospitals. For three years, the IPA researchers worked together with the design studio Phoenix Design and the clamping technology manufacturer Schunk to complete its fourth generation. The predecessors of the Care-O-Bot 4 have primarily been used to develop technical principles since 1989, but the new generation forms the basis for commercial use thanks to the modular product family. Fraunhofer IPA is now working on developing the application for various fields of use in industry. Saturn is the first customer to use the robot in practice. The project will initially last six months.

The scientists have added further features to Care-O-bot 4's software and hardware for its tasks at Saturn. "We have specified its navigation, dialogic communication and facial expressions and implemented them with the companies Semvox and Phoenix Design," explains IPA project manager Ulrich Reiser. Laser scanners at shin height provide orientation. With its front camera and the 'Shore' software developed by Fraunhofer IIS, it can recognize the mood of its counterpart and express its own moods. Microphones for speech recognition and cameras for gesture recognition enable it to communicate.

Care-O-bot 4 is not only suitable as a retail assistant. Thanks to its modular design and open software interfaces, the system can be used for various applications. For example, the robot could also be used as a mobile information kiosk in stores or airports, for pick-up and delivery services in homes or offices, for security applications or as a museum robot. Experts from all over the world can further develop the software and hardware components as part of the Care-O-bot 4 research platform.