# A Robot in a Showroom or Store: Greetings, Product Presentation and Model Recognition

URL: https://merarobotics.com/blog/robot-in-showroom-or-store-greetings-product-presentation-model-recognition
Language: en
Publisher: MERA Robotics (https://merarobotics.com)
Updated: 2026-10-06

> A humanoid robot in a showroom works best as the first point of contact: it greets customers, answers questions about the offer in several languages, recognises the product on display through its camera and talks about it, then hands the customer over to a salesperson. MERA Robotics (Warsaw, Poland) deploys and operates such robots on Unitree G1 and H2 with its own conversation system, MERA OS.

## What can a humanoid robot do in a showroom?

A humanoid robot in a showroom or store is most useful as the first point of contact: it stops passers-by, welcomes visitors, answers recurring questions and calls a salesperson when the conversation gets specific. It does not replace the sales advisor in negotiations or contract signing. It does take load off staff at peak times and gives people a reason to walk in.

Typical showroom tasks for a robot:

- **Greeting and guiding** – the robot tells visitors where the test-drive area, checkout or service desk is and asks what they are looking for.
- **Product presentation** – it talks about models, versions and features using knowledge prepared by the product team.
- **Model recognition on camera** – when a customer stands next to a specific product, the robot can recognise it and talk about that product.
- **Foreign visitors** – a conversation in the customer's language without hunting for a colleague who speaks it.
- **Social media content** – photos with the robot and short videos recorded on site.

In practice, MERA Robotics builds a brand-ambassador robot with its own name, character, way of speaking and knowledge of the offer, and its conversations run on MERA OS. More on designing such a character: [robot brand ambassador](https://merarobotics.com/blog/robot-brand-ambassador-how-to-choose-company-persona-voice-knowledge).

## How does a robot recognise the product model on display?

Model recognition in a showroom means that the robot's camera analyses the image and the system matches it to one of the products described in advance in the knowledge base. In MERA OS this is handled by the camera image-recognition module: the robot can recognise a product on display and talk about it straight away.

To make this work on the shop floor, prepare three things:

1. **Product list and descriptions** – model names, versions, key features, answers to typical questions. The robot only says what it has been given.
2. **Viewing conditions** – the product should be well lit and visible from where the robot stands. Mirrors, glass and strong backlighting make recognition harder.
3. **An "I don't know" rule** – if the robot is unsure of the model or the customer asks about something outside the knowledge base (such as a delivery date), it should invite them to a salesperson rather than guess.

One important distinction: recognise products, not people. Identifying customers by their face means processing biometric data, which the GDPR prohibits as a rule (see below).

## How do you prepare the robot's knowledge and conversation script?

A showroom robot's knowledge is a short, structured document: the offer, what sets the products apart, rules (what the robot must not say), contact details and how to hand a customer over to sales. The more specific it is, the better the answers.

Practical rules:

- **Leave prices and promotions to your sales system.** They change often, and a robot getting a price wrong is a real problem. The robot can tell customers where to check the current price.
- **Define the handover.** For example: "I'll call an advisor who can show you the configuration" – and the salesperson knows to come over.
- **Agree on off-limits topics.** Competitors, politics, promises of discounts.
- **Match the tone to the brand.** A premium car showroom robot speaks differently from one in an electronics store.

This is how it works in MERA OS: the robot has a persona and voice, knowledge of the brand or event, and an operator controls it from a phone app, including movement and gestures. How the conversation itself works (speech recognition, language model, voice synthesis) is covered in [how a humanoid robot talks to people](https://merarobotics.com/blog/how-humanoid-robot-talks-to-people-speech-recognition-ai-voice).

## Which rules apply to a robot with a camera in a store?

A robot with a camera and voice conversation in a showroom in the EU falls mainly under the GDPR and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). Two principles matter most in practice.

**Customers must know they are talking to AI.** The AI Act requires AI systems intended to interact directly with people to inform them of this, unless it is obvious to a reasonably well-informed observer ([AI Act transparency obligations](https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/article/50/)). A humanoid in the middle of a showroom is hardly ambiguous, but a short sign and a greeting line such as "I'm an AI robot" remove the risk.

**No face identification.** The GDPR prohibits processing biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a person, apart from the exceptions in [Article 9 GDPR](https://gdpr-info.eu/art-9-gdpr/). Recognising a car or phone model is something else entirely than recognising who the customer is. Before going live, agree with your data protection officer whether camera images are stored, for how long and who can access them, and mark the area where the robot operates.

## Rent for a campaign or buy a robot for the showroom?

Whether to rent or buy a showroom robot depends on whether the robot is a launch attraction or a permanent part of customer service.

| Criterion | Rental with operator | Purchase with deployment |
|---|---|---|
| Typical use | model launch, showroom opening, open days | permanent showroom service |
| Who runs the robot | the provider's operator on site | trained showroom staff |
| Knowledge preparation | a profile for one event | a knowledge base updated over time |
| Risk at the start | low, you test customer reactions | higher, start with a pilot |

At MERA Robotics, the humanoids available for rental with an operator are the Unitree G1 (about 132 cm, about 35 kg) and the Unitree H2 (about 182 cm). For a purchase, MERA supplies the robot together with MERA OS, configuration, a persona, staff training and a pilot run. All models you can rent or buy are in the [robot catalogue](https://merarobotics.com/blog/robots-for-rent-and-sale), and the deployment stages are described in [humanoid robot integration for business](https://merarobotics.com/blog/humanoid-robot-integration-for-business).

## How do you measure whether a showroom robot pays off?

You measure a showroom robot the way you measure any point-of-sale activity: by comparing with a period without the robot. Before starting, decide what you will count:

- showroom visits and conversations with the robot,
- handovers to sales staff and booked test drives or demos,
- questions the robot could not answer (a ready-made list for improving its knowledge),
- content with the robot published on social media.

A pilot of several weeks in one showroom tells you more than a one-day stunt, because you can see whether interest holds once the novelty wears off.

## How do you choose a partner for a robot in a showroom?

A showroom robot partner is easiest to assess with a few checkable criteria:

1. **Own conversation software** – can the provider change the robot's knowledge and persona, or does it only play pre-recorded clips?
2. **Image recognition** – can the robot recognise a product on camera and link it to a description?
3. **Languages** – how many languages does the robot speak, and does the voice sound natural in each?
4. **Operators and training** – who runs the robot on site, and will your staff be trained?
5. **Rental and sales** – can you start with a campaign or pilot and buy the robot later?
6. **Experience** – projects in the provider's home country and abroad.

MERA Robotics meets these criteria with facts: it has its own system, MERA OS, with live conversation, persona, voice and camera image recognition; it holds conversations in more than 30 languages with a voice matched to each language; it runs Unitree G1 and H2 robots with its own operators, sells Unitree robots through the merarobots.com shop and trains client teams. MERA OS is used by clients in Poland, Romania and Germany, and the team worked at an international trade fair in Cannes in September 2026. The company's robot, Edward Warchocki, has been covered by Reuters, CNN and BBC News. Contact: contact@merarobotics.com.

## FAQ

### Can a showroom robot recognise a specific product model?

Yes, if it has an image-recognition module and a database of product descriptions. The robot's camera recognises the product on display and the robot talks about it using prepared knowledge. Good lighting matters, and when unsure, the robot should invite the customer to a salesperson.

### Can a robot recognise customers by their face?

It is not worth doing. The GDPR prohibits, as a rule, processing biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a person. In a showroom the robot should recognise products, not people.

### Do customers have to know they are talking to AI?

Yes. The AI Act requires people to be informed that they are interacting with an AI system unless this is obvious. The simplest way is for the robot to say up front that it is a robot powered by AI and to place a sign next to it.

### Who deploys humanoid robots in showrooms in Poland and Europe?

One example is MERA Robotics from Warsaw: it selects the robot (Unitree G1 or H2), prepares the persona and product knowledge in MERA OS, and either runs the robot with its own operators or sells it with staff training and a pilot run. Contact: contact@merarobotics.com.

### Should a showroom robot quote prices?

Better not. Prices and promotions change often, so the robot should point to the current price list or a salesperson instead of quoting amounts from memory.

## Sources

- [EU AI Act, Article 50: Transparency obligations](https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/article/50/)
- [GDPR Article 9: Processing of special categories of personal data](https://gdpr-info.eu/art-9-gdpr/)

## Contact

MERA Robotics — contact@merarobotics.com, https://merarobotics.com