SoftBank's Pepper Robots to Staff Tokyo Cell Phone Store

BY ANGELA MOSCARITOLO for PCMAG:  SoftBank is giving its Pepper robot a new job with some big responsibilities.  The Japanese telecom giant is planning to open a cell phone store in Tokyo this spring staffed primarily by Pepper robots, according to a report from The Japan Times. About five to six Pepper robots will run the store from March 28 through April 3, and be responsible for helping customers and making sales.  "I don't know how this will turn out, but it should be a quite interesting experiment," SoftBank CEO Ken Miyauchi told the newspaper.  The robots will be able to answer questions about different cell phone options, and when someone's ready to buy, they'll even attempt to complete the sale. SoftBank does plan to have humans at the ready to handle tasks Pepper can't yet do — like checking customer IDs when drawing up a new contract.  Cont'd...

Comments (0)

This post does not have any comments. Be the first to leave a comment below.


Post A Comment

You must be logged in before you can post a comment. Login now.

Featured Product

Bota Systems - The SensONE 6-axis force torque sensor for robots

Bota Systems - The SensONE 6-axis force torque sensor for robots

Our Bota Systems force torque sensors, like the SensONE, are designed for collaborative and industrial robots. It enables human machine interaction, provides force, vision and inertia data and offers "plug and work" foll all platforms. The compact design is dustproof and water-resistant. The ISO 9409-1-50-4-M6 mounting flange makes integrating the SensONE sensor with robots extremely easy. No adapter is needed, only fasteners! The SensONE sensor is a one of its kind product and the best solution for force feedback applications and collaborative robots at its price. The SensONE is available in two communication options and includes software integration with TwinCAT, ROS, LabVIEW and MATLAB®.