"Instead it just gave a general location, for example, 'cheese is in the fridges', which was not very helpful."
"所以它只能給出大致方向,比如,'奶酪在冰箱里',這種回答沒有太大幫助."
However when Franco Margiotta, who built the business from scratch, told the little robot they would not be renewing his contract, Fabio asked: "Are you angry?" and some staff were reduced to tears when he was packed away and shipped back to Heriot-Watt.
但是,當白手起家的弗蘭科告訴這個小機器人,他們將不再和它續簽合同時,法比奧問："你們生氣了嗎？"當法比奧被打包帶走,運回赫瑞瓦特大學時,還有一些員工流下了眼淚.
Dr Oliver Lemon, director of the Interaction Lab at Heriot-Watt, admits he was surprised by the reaction his invention got.
赫瑞瓦特大學互動實驗室的主任奧利弗•雷蒙博士承認,他對于自己的發明取得的反應感到吃驚.
"One of things we didn't expect was the people working in the shop became quite attached to it.
"我們沒有料到的一件事是店員們對機器人產生了感情."
"When we had to pack it up and put it back in the box one of them started crying.
"當我們不得不把機器人打包放進盒子里時,有一個店員還哭了起來."
"It was good in a way, because we thought the opposite would happen and they would feel threatened by it because it was competing for their job.
"這在某種程度上是好事,因為我們原以為結果會正相反,他們會因為機器人搶奪自己的工作而感到受威脅."
"In actual fact they thought it was an enhancement because it was able to deal with frequent and boring requests, like customers constantly asking where things are, which I think they found quite helpful."
"事實上,他們認為機器人是有益的,因為機器人能幫忙處理頻繁乏味的請求,比如顧客會不停地問東西放在哪里,我想在這方面店員認為機器人還是相當給力的."
Asked whether robots could one day replace shop workers, Luisa Margiotta was sceptical.
在被問及機器人有一天是否會取代店員時,路易莎表示懷疑.
She added: "We find our customers love a personal interaction and speaking to our staff is a big part of that.
她補充說："我發現我們的顧客喜歡人與人之間的互動,和我們的職員交談是很重要的一部分互動."
"Our staff members know our regulars very well and can have conversations on a daily basis, and I doubt robots would be able to fulfil this.
"我們的職員和我們店的常客非常熟,每天都會聊一聊,我懷疑機器人能否勝任這一工作."
"It is possible, I believe, that robots could assist with roles such as warehouse-based tasks, but I doubt they will ever eliminate the need for human interaction.
"我相信,機器人也許能夠輔助完成倉庫里的任務,但是我懷疑它們能消除人類互動的需求."
"I am confident there will be plenty of retail jobs available for people as and when they need them in the future."
"我相信未來只要有人需要,還會有很多零售業職位向人類開放."
英文來源：每日電訊報
