Softbank, a Japanese tech company, created a robot named Pepper that can read human emotions, and interact accordingly.
At a height of 4 feet and a weight of 62 pounds, Pepper stands as a child would, tilting its head up to whoever speaks to it, as reported by Time.
Billionaire Masayoshi Son of Softbank said that the company’s goal was “to develop affectionate robots that can make people smile.”
In order to do so, the robot utilizes an advanced intelligence system that enables it to analyze, and tailor its response to, gestures, facial expressions, and voice inflections, according to the BBC. Son described the incorporation of this technology as “giving a robot a heart.”
Pepper is not expected to go on sale until 2015, but customers of Softbank stores have been able to experience prototypes of the robot since this past Friday, as stated by Softbank.
The price tag for this humanoid on wheels is set to be just under $2000.