SoftBank's Robot 'Pepper' Flogs Beer and Burgers at Airport
The Japanese Robot With a Job in California
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Pepper, the humanoid robot from Japan's SoftBank Group Corp., has just scored one of its first jobs in the U.S.: hawking beer.
The Pyramid Taproom at Oakland International Airport has been using Pepper for about two weeks as a greeter and pitchman for its beer and food menu. It also offers directions to anyone passing by and looking for help finding their way around the airport. Pepper's U.S. gigs, with the Taproom job following work as a provider of directions at a mall in nearby San Francisco, are among the first steps by the technology company to find a role for its robots among U.S. consumers.