LONDON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Winston Churchill's birthplace at Blenheim Palace embraced new technology to start trying a robot tour guide in the UNESCO world heritage site.
The 1.5-meter tall robot, named Betty, is designed by scientists at Oxford Robotics Institute from Oxford University's Department of Engineering Science. It is the latest in a series of tech advances in the palace.
"Having Betty at the palace is a great opportunity for us to engage with the general public in a stunning setting," Dr. Bruno Lacerda of the team told local media.
When Betty detects visitors, it could provide information and answer their questions. It could even take selfies with visitors and upload them to social media using the Twitter hashtag #bettyinthepalace.
The team hopes that in the future Betty is able to guide visitors to specific spots in the historic site. If the trial is successful, it will return to the palace again later in the year.
Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house in Blenheim, Oxfordshire, England. It is the principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, and the only non-royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. Churchill was born at the palace in 1874.
