Tainan deploys humanoid robot to assist residents at city hall

Tainan deploys humanoid robot to assist residents at city hall

2026-02-24

The Tainan City Government has a new employee you can’t miss. Nicknamed “Little White,” service robot No. 0001 will come to life when you say hello to him. He paces the first floor of the city hall ready to help, drawing crowds of onlookers taking photos and eager to interact.

At clock-in time, Little White automatically boots up and rolls away from its charging area to the first stop of the day.

- Hello Little White. Which floor is the press office on?

Just say “Hello Little White” and this little robotic employee will give its full attention. But aside from answers about city services, it doesn’t have too much to say.

- Is FTV the best television station?
- Since this question falls outside the scope of city affairs, I cannot answer.

Even when asked some lighthearted questions, Little White is quite the conversationalist.

- Little White, do you think I’m pretty?
- Everyone is beautiful in their own way. What matters most is a smile and confidence.

The robot’s adorably dorky responses have won over quite a few fans. Kids especially love to gather around and cheer him on. At the moment, the robot is mostly responsible for giving directions from the first floor about the location of offices in the building.

- Little White, can you take me to the Construction Division of the Public Works Bureau?
- Sorry, I’m working now. I can’t go anywhere else.

Member of public
Full of praise
It has an excellent service attitude. It’s just that it can’t move. If it could move, it would be better.

- It explains things very thoroughly. I just needed to hear it once and I got it.
- Do people ask it more questions than they ask you?
- Ha!

The Tainan City Government is the first of the six special municipalities to enlist the help of a service robot fully developed in Taiwan. As long as it charges just once every six hours, it can work all day. During the day it guides people in the building, while at night it helps with patrols. It can even press the elevator buttons by itself. At a cost of NT$1.5 to NT$1.6 million, the robot is already capable of conversing in both Chinese and English, with a Taiwanese version planned.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#robot #Tainan #cityservices #AI #service #directions #cityhall #servicerobot

台南市府新員工上工機器人"小白"親切服務市民

2026-02-24

台南市政府有一位新員工讓人很難不注意，這位編號0001號的服務機器人「小白」，只要1句「哈囉，小白」，他立刻啟動，在1樓大廳來回移動，不但吸引不少洽公民眾圍觀、拍照，和民眾的互動感也十足。

上工時間一到，小白立刻自動的從充電區出發，前往第一個工作點，就定位。

“哈囉小白，請問一下我要到新聞處要往幾樓?”

只要一句哈囉小白，這位機器人市府員工，就可以跟洽公民眾親切互動。只是除了市府公務的相關問題外，閒聊的話題，小白不太能多說。

“民視是不是第一名的電視台?”
“關於這個問題，因為不屬於市政相關的範圍，我不方便回答喔。”

不過問一些家常俏皮的問題，小白也是很會聊天。

“小白你覺得我漂亮嗎?”
“每個人都是獨一無二的美喔，最重要的是你的微笑和自信。”

小白呆萌的反應，也意外圈了不少粉絲。尤其小朋友們，最愛圍著小白起鬨。小白目前主要負責1樓導覽服務，只要詢問洽辦業務的樓層位置，小白就會上線指路。

“小白可以帶我去，工務局新建工程科嗎?”
“不好意思我現在正在工作中，不能移動到其他地方呢。”

[[洽公民眾]]
“服務態度很好啊，態度非常好。只是它不能移動，如果可以移動就更好了。”

“他的詳細解釋很詳細，剛才我一聽我就知道了”
“問他的人比問你還多?
“哈。”

小白是台南市政府，率先在6都在市府中，導入國產研發的服務型機器人。每6小時充1次電，就可以全天值勤，白天當導覽員，晚上也化身巡樓小幫手，還能自己按電梯按鍵上下樓。目前具備中、英文對話能力，造價約150到160萬元，未來還會持續升級，也計畫導入台語。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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Now there’s a noodle shop in Kaohsiung’s Lingya District that doesn’t need a single employee. From cooking to serving, a robot takes care of the entire order, whether it’s beef noodles or pork noodles. The owner said he got the idea because the labor shortage has made hiring difficult.

A robotic arm places down a bowl of piping hot noodles, ready for pickup.

The milky white pork broth looks like it’s been simmering for hours. Another bowl of beef noodles comes with big chunks of meat. Would you believe it was all made by a robot?

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Every bowl is prepared fresh. The flour is kneaded into dough, then cut into strips and immediately cooked into a bowl of hot noodles.

Newly opened, this automated noodle shop in Kaohsiung’s Lingya District doesn’t need any staff at all. A robot takes care of cooking and serving all seven items on the menu. Customers first order from a kiosk, then wait for the robot to make their order. Vegetables are self-service, as are the pickles and spicy radish. If you don’t feel like noodles, the restaurant also has dumplings and braised food that you can microwave yourself.

Wang Chun-hua
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Because of the increasingly severe labor shortage, it’s getting harder and harder to hire staff, which impacts service quality. That’s what inspired us to develop this AI noodle-making system.

As hiring becomes more difficult, restaurants have to adapt to survive. Like this one, some are turning to robots. Automation might be all the rage right now, but traditional restaurants aren’t worried about losing business.

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Of course traditional shops have a human touch. You can interact with people and chat.

These chefs might not be worried, but others are. Now that robots can cook, there might be even fewer jobs available in the future.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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69-yo restaurant employee found dead in walk-in freezer

The owner of a well-known restaurant in Taipei’s Wenshan District was left in horror on Tuesday, when she opened up shop for the first time after the Lunar New Year break. While fetching ingredients from the walk-in freezer, she found the body of a 69-year-old employee inside. The police worked out that the employee had locked herself inside the freezer on Monday night. Because she was only found 12 hours later, she had long passed away from hypothermia.

Soon after lunchtime, the restaurant pulls down its security shutter.

Eyewitness
Wenshan District, Taipei
There was an ambulance and a fire truck. The police also entered the alleyways, probably to do a quick inspection. It seemed pretty serious.

Shopkeepers nearby are in chatters over what transpired. It’s only the second business day after the Lunar New Year break, but a great number of police officers and medics had gathered around the front and backdoor of the restaurant.

Eyewitness
Wenshan District, Taipei
An employee was found in the walk-in freezer, to which the door was locked and couldn’t be opened. They probably wanted to save her, but by then she’d already passed away. It was already too late.

The restaurant is located in Taipei’s Wenshan District, a well-known, 40-year-old establishment. According to the police, the woman trapped in the walk-in freezer was an employee.

Ma Sheng-chieh
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The large walk-in freezer is right by the kitchen at the restaurant’s backdoor. The owner was about to prep for the day, but couldn’t get the freezer’s door to open. She later broke in, and was shocked to find her employee’s body inside.

The employee was a 69-year-old woman surnamed Liu. She had been with the restaurant for more than 20 years. The restaurant was not open on Monday. At 11 p.m. that day, she told her family members that she was going out to meet friends, but actually headed to the restaurant alone. She then went into the walk-in freezer, which is set at -10°C and has enough room for three to four people. Once inside, she locked the door. Strangely, the door actually has an emergency lock-breaking mechanism that can be activated from the interior. The woman also had her phone with her, but she did not reach out for help in the 12 hours she was inside the freezer and there weren’t any traces that suggest she may have tried to escape. She died from hypothermia, and her body was found by the restaurant owner the very next day.

Kao Da-cheng
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She was exposed to a temperature of -10°C, so she wouldn’t have lasted more than four hours or perhaps not even two. One is prone to dehydration in freezing temperatures. You would lose consciousness quickly and wouldn’t be able to save yourself.

The police ruled out the possibility of murder. They also found that the deceased had large debts, and are determining whether she may have intentionally taken her own life.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Commuters in Taipei were in for a fright on the first working day after the Lunar New Year break: someone called Taipei Metro and threatened to kill passengers in a specific train car between Nanjing Sanmin and Songshan Stations on the Green Line during the evening rush hour. Fortunately, the threat turned out to be a hoax, and the person who made it, a 35-year-old man from Kaohsiung, was subsequently arrested for threatening public safety. Turns out, the man, surnamed Cheng, had a history of making prank calls to public services. More chillingly, the threat was made as Taipei was still recovering from the attacks in December last year.

Fully armed Police officers are deployed to Songshan Station on the Taipei MRT. They charge ahead, sparing no time and effort to respond to a killing threat.

On the platform, officers are urging passengers not to enter. They remain on high alert, until they’re sure that the threat was entirely a hoax.

Witness
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Passengers were in for a fright with so many officers inside the MRT station. After investigating, the police determined the threat to be false. The prank caller was a 35-year-old man in Kaohsiung surnamed Cheng. He’d threatened to kill passengers on a train car between Nanjing Sanmin and Songshan stations.

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Chen Chih-feng
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Memories of the Taipei attacks in December last year remain fresh and the public is still on high alert. So even though the killing did not take place, it still rattled commuters.

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This fishmonger stays busy preparing his wares, but when he sees a foreign traveler walk by, he springs to life.

No sooner had he finished listening to his wife’s impromptu English lesson than he promptly forgot how to say “have a drink.” He even has trouble saying “sugar.” His introduction is even sillier.

Kao Chen-chieh
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He loves chatting and is super friendly. Especially when there’s a foreigner, he’ll always greet them and offer something to eat. It’s pretty local.

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I’m the Sammo Hung lookalike in this market, and he’s the Chu Ke-liang!

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Volunteers cover a stranded pygmy killer whale with towels and douse it with water to keep it wet as they try to soothe the stranded animal. It is weak after running ashore on the beach, but the saddest part is, it’s not alone.

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The area has been cordoned off in response to the mass stranding event. Coast guard officers and experts have rushed to the area to help. They conducted medical checks on the whales, and ensured that they stayed upright on the shore, to not injure their pectoral fins.

Pan Fang-chuan
Pingtung County Councilor (DPP)
When I was little, there would often be strandings, more than now. There were times when there were 20 or 30 whales. There aren’t as many nowadays.

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You should hold them upright, and keep them wet. Then, experts take their heart rate and breathing.

Wang Hao-wen
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If they are in good health, we try to release them on the spot. But if they are injured, we bring them in to a rescue site.

Everyone is helping out to return the beached whales back to their home in the sea.

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