Pepper, Japan’s friendly neighbourhood robotic humanoid companion, is finally coming to the United States — but just for a week.
The robot will be greeting customers at B8ta, a tech store in San Francisco, California, from August 11 to 18, according to the store’s Facebook page.
Pepper made its debut in Japan, where it’s been sold in 1,000-unit batches. Each time Japanese telco Softbank sends Pepper to the market, it sells out in seconds. Pepper has since also made appearances in Europe.
The robot is programmed to communicate with users, follow vocal commands, read human emotions and react accordingly. Though it’s available for purchase to regular Joes in Japan, it’s main use internationally has been to greet and serve customers at supermarkets, stores, hotels and the like.
