TOKYO: I’m Japanese and so
I’m a sucker for cute things,
like manga, quirky figurines
and mascot characters. And
Pepper, the new companion
robot from Tokyo-based
technology company Softbank
Corp., delivers cuteness
like you’ve never seen.
What’s striking is the absolutely
ardent attention it
gives you frankly a lot better
than some real-life people.
“You look a bit thin,” it coos
in a soft childlike voice, free
of any rigid mechanical accent.
“You should watch
what you eat.”
The 121-centimeter
(four-foot) tall white machine-on-wheels
is disarmingly
charming and
definitely charming. It’s another
matter entirely
whether it’s worth the price
tag of 198,000 yen ($1,600),
plus the maintenance and
insurance costs that ownership
entails, adding up to
some 1.2 million yen
($10,000) for an estimated
three-year lifespan. Only
available in Japan so far,
overseas sales are undecided.
The programming it has
now caters to Japanese
tastes. A U.S. version will obviously
have to be quite different.
Pepper has cameras, lasers
and infrared in its hairless
head so it can detect
human faces. Whatever direction
you move, its cocked
head will also move, intently
looking into your face with
its big eyes, like a puppy. Except,
this pet can talk. As
long as you don’t walk too far
from it, removing yourself
from its attention, Pepper
will prattle on and on,
switching from one small
talk topic to another, gesticulating
at times with its five-
fingered soft hands for effect.
“Do you want to play a
quiz game? What animal
goes like this- bow wow,” it
might say. It will tell you
“cat” is the wrong answer.
And then it will ask, “What
did you have for dinner?” If
you say, “Tempura,” it has
enough voice recognition to
decipher that and will reply,
“Oh, Japanese.” I tried answering,
“Steak,” another
time. It said, “Oh, Western.”
The robot is equipped
with enough of a repertoire
to avoid easy boredom. That
repertoire is constantly being
updated through a WiFi
connection. Each Pepper is
hand-made by Foxconn in
China, limiting supplies to
1,000 a month. The first
batch for July sold out in a
minute. It’s attracting regular
technology fans but also
a kindergarten, a cafe and
people who’re buying it for
their elderly parents. The
kind of patient interaction
Pepper excels at is recommended
for people with dementia.
Equipped with
artificial intelligence by Aldebaran
of France, Pepper
has what Softbank calls an
emotional engine, meaning
it reacts to what it interprets
as anger or sorrow in humans
around it by deciphering
voice tones, facial
expressions and language. It
also has programming that
sets off the equivalent of its
own human emotions. On
the flat-panel display attached
to its chest, it offers
boxes to tap for various
tasks, such as reading storybooks,
giving a tarot-card
reading, playing the radio,
working as a drum machine
and relaying the weather
forecast. It has some cool
dance moves as well.
Owners may be tempted
to give the thing a wig or
dress it up. That’s not recommended
as it can overheat.
It keeps going for 10 to
12 hours on a single charge.
It charges from a regular
household outlet. Softbank
offers a basic software application
kit, so even a child can
create applications for Pepper.
This is not some slapped
together toy of a robot. It’s
the first convincing semblance
of a step toward arti-
ficial intelligence fantasised
in science fiction movies
that’s affordable for homes.
The way it’s designed,
Pepper is basically about human
relationships. It could
be the life of a party. It could
be a dream-come-true robot
friend for a child.
For parents, it can keep
track of a baby growing up
with photos Pepper takes
over the years and other data
kept in cloud storage.
Just as a movie, a video
game or a good book can be
fascinating, without any
pretense about being real,
Pepper is fun. “Let’s grow
and get better together,” it
says with bubbly emotion in
a poignant conversational
moment.
Even when it isn’t talking
and standing still, it appears
to be breathing, inhaling and
exhaling softly. Its arms
move ever so slightly. And
that is preciously cute.
AP
GETTING ACQUAINTED Curious children surround SoftBank Corp.'s new companion robot Pepper PHOTO: AP
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