Humanoid Robot Pepper SB introduces examples of corporate use

SoftBank's humanoid robot Pepper appears during a press conference on January 27, 2016, Tokyo, Japan. Fumihide Tomizawa, chief executive officer of SoftBank Robotics announced plans to open a new app store where customers can download robot Pepper applications to allow it to do specific jobs. From February 22nd over 500 companies where the robot is already working will be able to download Pepper apps to help their business. SoftBank also plans to introduce the robot into 2000 of its own stores by the end of February 2016, and to open a new phone store staffed entirely by Peppers. After the press conference SoftBank showed how companies such as Nestle, Nissan, Sumo, and Mizuho have used Pepper to help serve their customers. The robot is commercially available for 198,000 yen ($1,672 USD) although production runs to date have all sold out. Companies may also rent it for 55,000 yen (464,55 USD) per month. (Photo by Rodrigo Reyes Marin/AFLO)