Pepper the Robot is Retiring
The Japanese SoftBank stops production of the Pepper care robot. The robot, which is somewhat reminiscent of a cartoon, is one of the best-known examples of a ‘friendly’ humanoid robot.
Pepper seems to be nearing his end. The adorable humanoid robot has been around since 2014. It has been used for various social and international events, but SoftBank has announced that it is “pausing” production of the devices until needed again.
That announcement coincides with a round of layoffs at SoftBank’s robotics factory in France. About 330 jobs will disappear there.
The Pepper robot is one of the more famous humanoid robots and was one of the first to ‘recognize’ human emotions. The device was promoted as a companion for people at home and for public places such as shops.
However, partly due to the purchase price, Pepper was mainly used for conferences and educational purposes.
