Robby Pepper can answer questions in Italian, English and German. Billed as Italy’s first robot concierge, the humanoid will be deployed all season at a hotel on the popular Lake Garda to help relieve the desk staff of simple, repetitive questions. During one of Robby’s first shifts, Mihail Slanina, a guest from Moldova, congratulated the robot on his skills.

“He’s like a real person, he’s really good,” she enthused. “He talks, he shook my hand.” Developed by Japan’s Softbank Robotics, Robby as he has been christened by the hotel where he’s resident has been taught a list of questions such as the locations of the spa, restaurants and opening hours, programmed by the Italian digital services company Jampaa. The summer tourist season will provide Robby with a crash course in unanticipated questions, not to mention accents, which will help improve his knowledge, vocabulary and ability to answer.