Pepper is a Hit!
Pepper is a humanoid robot developed by the Japanese company SoftBank. On Saturday at 10 am, the first 1,000 Peppers were on sale for the first time ever. By 10:01 am, all 1,000 had found themselves an owner. That’s right, SoftBank sold out its first batch of the groundbreaking humanoid robot in just one minute. Pepper costs 198,000 Japanese yen, a figure that roughly translates to $1,600. However, that initial figure does not take into account the extra costs needed for insurance and the Cloud-based database that SoftBank has Pepper running on. There is also the potential hourly wage for using Pepper as a worker at meet-and-greets and other public events. A special draw at a SoftBank store on Friday also resulted in an additional thirty Peppers being ordered.
What is Pepper?
So, what is the selling point of Pepper the humanoid robot? What makes Pepper so different and so compelling to purchase is that by using its camera, touch sensors, and microphone, the humanoid can actually learn to recognize emotions, SoftBank claims. Pepper can not only learn to read its owner’s different emotions, but eventually develop its own set of ‘feelings’. In this way, the humanoid robot can potentially fill the role of an office receptionist. But in a household, where it doesn’t have to be a servant or worker; Pepper’s emotions can make it another member of the family. And with its capability to download apps and connect to the internet, Pepper has multiple ways of helping with the children, be it by aiding them with homework or telling stories. These apps are visible on a tablet found on Pepper’s chest; this tablet also has an emotion map that allows Pepper to demonstrate the emotions it is feeling at that moment.
You’ll Have to Wait for More Pepper
Don’t expect to order your own Pepper anytime soon. SoftBank does plan to sell the humanoid robot overseas at some point, thanks to new partners in China and Taiwan, but there doesn’t seem to be a clear timetable. The time for new orders will be announced sometime in July, which is also when the first shipments of Pepper will be delivered.
