PEPPER: "EMOTIONAL" ROBOT

The French high-tech company Aldebaran Robotics has designed, on behalf of the Internet holding Japanese Softbank, the robot Pepper, able to adapt its behavior to the state of mind of his interlocutors. Be based on "universal" emotions (joy, surprise, anger, doubt, sadness), then analyze facial expressions, body language and words to guess what state of mind is his interlocutor that is the main function Pepper. Designed to integrate into the daily lives of humans and assist in repetitive, strenuous or dangerous tasks, this robot was designed by the French high-tech company Aldebaran Robotics on behalf of its majority shareholder holding Japanese Softbank. Marketing will begin in February 2015, with an entrance at 198 000 yen (about 1,420 euros) ticket. Presented during a conference in Tokyo June 5, Pepper is essentially the area of ​​personal services (childcare, care for the elderly or frail). Able to communicate by voice and touch, it measures 1.21 m and weighs 28 kg including its battery offering 12 hours of autonomy. Taiwanese subcontractor Foxconn, which supports manufacturing, preferred wheels legs that propel the other two models Aldebaran Robotics (Nao and Romeo). But the main attribute Pepper, it is this set of sensors and algorithms that allow it to deepen daily relationship with his owner. At the moment, the spectrum of emotions is still limited. Softbank put on automatic learning by several exemplary situation in several of its stores in Tokyo. It is in contact with customers that the machine will store new information it forward in the cloud and then redistribute to all Pepper robots. The other major contribution will come from developers and animators, asked to use an open platform and SDK (software development kit) "which will soon be available to them," according to Masayoshi Son. The CEO of Softbank announces a conference dedicated in September. Aldebaran Robotics opening for its part, to Paris, to present workshops Nao, Pepper and their ecosystem. The company employs nearly 500 people. Founded in 2005, it has several research centers in the world: Boston (USA), Shanghai (China) and Tokyo.