A 'robot priest' wearing a Buddhist robe chants sutras during its demonstration at Life Ending Industry Expo 2017 in Tokyo on Wednesday. (Reuters photo)TOKYO - A Japanese company has introduced a new role for SoftBank's humanoid robot "Pepper" - a Buddhist priest for hire at funerals. Chanting sutras in a computerised voice while tapping a drum, the robot was on display on Wednesday at a funeral industry fair - the Life Ending Industry Expo - in Tokyo. The funeral robot could step in when a priest was not available, he said. It also cost less at 50,000 yen (15,280 baht) per funeral compared to more than 240,000 yen for a human priest.

Source: Bangkok Post August 23, 2017 13:18 UTC