Pepper robot to host android

Pepper, the robot that has been trained to
"perceive" human emotion, is opening up its
platform to Android developers.
Maker SoftBank is hoping that it will spur
new
apps and new capabilities for the
humanoid robot which has sold well but still
has no clear defined purpose.
Ten thousand of the robots have been sold but
developers have been slow to make apps for
its closed Naoqi operating system.
Android will run on a tablet strapped to the
robot's chest.
Neither Google nor SoftBank has disclosed
what sort of business deal they have struck
and it is unclear if the robot will take
advantage of new features such as the
recently announced artificial intelligence
Google Assistant.
But it will almost certainly offer Google some
degree of control over the robot as well as a
cut of revenues.
Pepper has been in big demand in Japan with
each batch of 1,000 units selling out in
minutes. It will go on pre-sale in the US in
July.
It costs 198,000 yen ($1,800) and each one is
sold at a loss.
The 1.2m (4ft) humanoid bot features more
than 20 motors and has articulated arms. It
was designed to understand emotions and
mimic human body language - so, for
instance, its shoulders go up when it is in
standby mode, imitating sleep.
So far, Pepper is being used as a waiter,
salesman and customer service representative
in around 500 companies in Japan, including
Nestle, Mizuho Bank and Nissan.