The 21st century is one of sorrow. Loneliness is a problem worldwide. To ease some of that sadness with technology, we created Pepper to help ease with sorrow. He was made with a totally different goal and idea in mind than other robots up to this point. Robots up until now have been used to perform work in dangerous places or act as extensions of computers; essentially replacements for human labor. We aimed to create a communication partner.

To become a communication partner for people required not only hardware and software development, but also advanced communication skills and a human-like character.

Hardware and software development was mainly carried out by Softbank Mobile, Softbank Robotics, and Aldebaran Robotics.

The character, communication, and interface development were carried out by the agency creative team. Japan’s Monty Python, Yoshimoto Kogyo, also took on a role to make a robot with a personality and user experience like no other. The robot’s character and conversation are its core base. Working together with emotion recognition function and cloud AI allows for infinite possible experiences.

By opening up the development platform to the public, many creators and media artists became involved, accelerating its evolution.

The product went on sale in February and sold all 300 units in one minute. The next release scheduled for June is currently in production, with manufacturing of Pepper for mass production being handled by Foxconn.

Technology to Ease Sorrow

Equipped with a camera on the head that captures people’s expressions for recognition.

Peppers around the world connect through cloud, amassing enormous volumes of data. Humans forget conversations from one hour ago, but Pepper can recall data from several years ago.

Based on the amassed data, users can adjust the personality settings to their liking. With a robot, you don’t have to worry about saying anything that you might be hesitant to say to a person. Pepper’s bare bones manner of speaking helps bridge the gap with people.

It can’t clean like a Roomba. Nor can it lift heavy objects. But it’s equipped with technology to become close to people’s hearts. This is a new approach in robot development.

It was released in February and sold out in one minute. The next release is scheduled for June. The more people interact with Pepper it accelerates its development. As the market grows, more developers will get involved in robot development. We expect Pepper will help to grow the market for communication robots, opening the doors to the next stage of using technology to solve more of the problems we face.

On sales launch day, Pepper sold out in one minute, becoming a partner to 300 people, from only children, to the elderly. Pepper puts his great communication skills to work at stores throughout Japan. Customer visits increased by 250%. Pepper was approached by over 100 companies, including offers to be a barista, educator, and voice actor. His personality became a hit with the media, earning him a regular spot on three TV shows. The understanding and learning robot, Pepper, is putting its communication skills to use in a wide array of fields. This is just a small step for communication robots,

but the possibilities are infinite.Technology only begins to makes sense when it connects with people, and brings them happiness. Pepper is the first robot to teach us that.