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Pepper is a semi- humanoid robot manufactured by
Aldebaran Robotics Nao (pronounced ''now'') is an autonomous, programmable humanoid robot developed by Aldebaran (company), Aldebaran (formerly known as ''Aldebaran Robotics'', then ''SoftBank Robotics Europe'', the company has since reverted to its original nam ...
(formerly Softbank Robotics Europe), designed with the ability to read emotions. It was introduced in Japan in June 2014.


History

Pepper was introduced in Tokyo on 5 June 2014 by Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank. and was showcased in SoftBank Mobile phone stores in Japan beginning the next day. Pepper's ability to recognize emotion is based on detection and analysis of facial expressions and voice tones. Production of Pepper was paused in June 2021, due to weak demand. Pepper was scheduled to be available in December 2015 at SoftBank Mobile Pepper went on sale in June 2015 with the first batch of 1,000 units selling out in just 60 seconds. Pepper was launched in the UK in 2016. By May 2018, 12,000 Pepper robots had been sold in Europe. In June 2021, it was reported SoftBank would pause production of Pepper, citing weak demand. At the time, an estimated 27,000 units had been manufactured. On 11 January 2024, a voice library based on Pepper's voice was released to the public by VoiSona (vocal synthesizer by the same creators as CeVIO).


Use


Commercial

Pepper is currently being used as a receptionist at several offices in the UK and can identify visitors with facial recognition, send alerts for meeting organisers and arrange for drinks to be made. Pepper can chat autonomously to prospective clients. The first functioning Pepper receptionist in the UK was supplied by a SoftBank distributor and was installed in London at Brainlabs. The robot has also been used at banks and medical facilities in Japan, using applications created by Seikatsu Kakumei. and it is also used in all branches of Hamazushi restaurants in Japan. Pepper is used in North American airports such as Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, Canada. The robot is used to greet travelers, offer menus and recommendations. In 2018, Pepper robot was introduced in the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. In December 2019, a dozen Pepper robots were installed at the "Pepper PARLOR cafe in Tokyo, Japan.


Sports

On 9 July 2020, a team of Pepper robots performed as cheerleaders at a baseball game between the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and the Rakuten Eagles, supported by a team of Boston Dynamics Spot quadrupedal robots.


Consumer

In 2017, Pepper was reported to have been used in thousands of homes in Japan.


Academic

Pepper is available as a research and educational robot for schools, colleges and universities to teach programming and conduct research into human-robot interactions. In 2017, an international team began research into using Pepper as versatile robot to help look after older people in care homes or sheltered accommodation. The project CARESSES aimed at developing the world's first culturally-competent robot, received funding worth more than two million Euros, with donors including the European Union and the Japanese government. The project was expected to run for three years. Institutions involved in the research include University of Genoa (Project Coordinator), Örebro University,
Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...
, the University of Bedfordshire,
SoftBank is a Japanese multinational Investment company, investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services ...
Robotics, Advinia HealthCare, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Japanese coordinator), Nagoya University, Chubu University. On Tuesday 16 October 2018, a Pepper robot mentioned the CARESSES project while giving evidence to the Education Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament. Long-term research with Pepper could show that residents of care home are willing to interact with humanoid robots and benefit from cognitive and physical activation that is led by the robot Pepper. Another long-term study in a care home could show that people working in the care sector are willing to use robots in their daily work with the residents. It also revealed that even though the robots are ready to be used, require human assistance. They cannot replace workers, only assist them.


Design


Purpose

Pepper is not a functional robot for domestic use. Instead, Pepper is intended "to make people enjoy life", enhance people's lives, facilitate relationships, have fun with people and connect people with the outside world. Pepper's creators hope that independent developers will create new content and uses for Pepper.


Specifications

The robot's head has four microphones, two HD cameras (in the mouth and forehead), and a 3-D depth sensor (behind the eyes). There is a
gyroscope A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining Orientation (geometry), orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in ...
in the torso and touch sensors in the head and hands. The mobile base has two sonars, six
lasers A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...
, three bumper sensors, and a gyroscope. It can run the existing content in the app store designed for SoftBank's Nao robot.


Incidents

In September 2015, a visitor frustrated with his customer experience in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
lashed out against Pepper, damaging the unit. In 2018, a supermarket in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
removed the service robot within a week as it was unpopular with customers. This was said to be due to high levels of background noise making the robot unable to hear questions properly, and customers being unwilling to interact with a robot when human help was available.


See also

* Manav (robot) * Musio * Nao


References


External links

*
Robot - SoftBank Group
*
Pepper special website
(archived September 2020; ) *
Pepper developer website
(archived July 2017; ) {{Authority control Robots of France SoftBank Group Humanoid robots Robots of Japan 2014 introductions 2014 establishments in France 2014 establishments in Japan