HDFC Bank to deploy 20 humanoids in its branches in next 2 years

A fortnight ago the bank had announced that it will soon introduce a humanoid IRA - intelligent robotic assistant to help its branch staff in servicing customers. "In the next 18-24 months we are looking at atleast 15-20 humanoids in our branches with different manifestations and versions, it may be different looking with a different name," said Nitin Chugh, Country Head, Digital Banking, HDFC Bank. "Specific humanoids will be built to cater to needs of customers in those branches." Developed using Robotics and Artificial Intelligence technologies, IRA will be positioned near the Welcome Desk, where it will greet customers and guide them to the relevant counter in the branch such as Cash Deposit, Foreign Exchange, Loans, among others in the first phase. In the next phase, IRA's capabilities will be enhanced further by introducing features such as Voice and Face recognition for customer identification, Voice-guided navigation, Balance enquiry, and Cheque deposit among others.