Pepper is a semi-humanoid robot manufactured by SoftBank Robotics, designed with the ability to read emotions. It was introduced in a conference on 5 June 2014, and was showcased in SoftBank Mobile phone stores in Japan beginning the next day. Pepper's ability to detect emotion comes from the ability to analyze expressions and voice tones.
History
Pepper was introduced in Tokyo on June 5, 2014 by Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank. 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.
Use
Commercial
Pepper is currently being used as a receptionist at several offices in the UK and is able to identify visitors with the use of facial recognition, send alerts for meeting organisers and arrange for drinks to be made. Pepper is able to chat autonomously to prospective clients. The first functioning Pepper receptionist in the UK was supplied by the 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 being used in North American airports such as Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, Canada. The robot is used to greet travelers, offer menus and recommendations. In 2018, Pepper robot was introduced first time in UAE. Pepper robot cleans hotels in Tokyo including the hotels in areas having high rate of Coronavirus patients or red zones.
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, Örebro University, Middlesex University, the University of Bedfordshire, SoftBank Robotics, Advinia HealthCare, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 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.
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, and a 3-D depth sensor. There is a gyroscope in the torso and touch sensors in the head and hands. The mobile base has two sonars, six lasers, three bumper sensors, and a gyroscope. It is able to run the existing content in the app store designed for SoftBank's Nao robot.
