SoftBank’s Emotion-Reading Robot Is CEO Son’s Dream Realized
This article is for subscribers only.
SoftBank Corp.’s emotion-reading robot Pepper is a result of time billionaire Chairman Masayoshi Son spent as a child watching the TV show “Astro Boy.”
Unlike the character from the 1960s Japanese animated series who couldn’t experience feelings, the 1.2-meter (4-foot) tall humanoid robot estimates human emotions based on expressions, the company said yesterday. The machine, manufactured by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., will be on display at some of SoftBank’s Tokyo-area shops today and available to consumers in Japan starting in February next year.