Shizuoka firm debuts birdlike robot Charpy to talk back to English learners

Making use of a cloud service with massive data collected online, the robot Charpy can respond to learners in natural conversations based on their interests and English skill levels. "We hope that Charpy will help learners to overcome difficulties in conversations," said Mitsunori Fukuchi, president of CAI Media, based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. According to the company, Charpy's character is set as a little bird that likes chocolate. The robot is programmed with 1,000 conversation phrases. According to Fukuchi, the robot can handle all English skill levels from beginners to advanced levels using the cloud service.