A new hospital ward run entirely by robots has opened in Wuhan, China, in a bid to protect medical staff from contracting the coronavirus. On 7 March, about 200 patients exhibiting early symptoms of covid-19 were ushered into the new ward, which is in a converted sports centre in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus outbreak started. The robots deliver food, drinks and drugs to the patients, and keep the ward clean.

On Thursday, SoftBank Robotics opened the Pepper PARLOR, a cafe where three different types of robots work alongside human staff to serve and entertain customers. "[The] aim is to create a space where people can easily experience the coexistence of people and robots and enjoy the evolution of robots and the future of living with robots," the company told ZDNet. "We want to make robots not only for convenience and efficiency, but also to expand the possibilities of people and bring happiness." SoftBank developed all three of the robots working in the Pepper PARLOR, including the cafe's eponym, Pepper. That semi-humanoid robot does most of the interacting with customers, greeting them and taking their orders.