TOKYO: Japanese engineers have been forced to reprogram a customer-welcoming robot after it was set upon by children.
The Robovie-II robot was initially deployed to engage with shoppers in a shopping mall in Osaka, but soon found itself subjected to attacks by hoards of cruel kids.
The research team found the attacks were more likely to occur when larger groups of kids surrounded the Robovie.
In response, they decided to help their defenceless friend and came up with a formula to help it evade the unkind children.
The robot is now trained to move only towards people taller than 137cm.
