The robots are coming

Who would have thought we'd ever see the day that robots will exist in the human world, interacting with us on a daily basis. But with rapid advancements in technology, that day is closer than ever. 

Japanese telecom Softbank and its CEO Masayoshi Son have never been afraid to push the boundaries, and have now presented their latest invention, a robot that recognises human emotions.

It's not quite I,Robot yet but one thing for sure, it is certainly a step towards that direction!

Presented at a press conference this week in Japan, it's called ‘Pepper’ and uses technology acquired from the French robotics company Aldebaran.

Aldebaran CEO Bruno Maisonnier credited Son for believing in its vision, saying robots that can recognise human emotion will change the way we live and communicate - and this is a big step towards getting bots into daily lives, at least if you live in Japan. The robots will debut at two stores in their customer service capacity, but Softbank is planning to put them on sale to the public next year, priced around $2,000.

Pepper can communicate through emotion, speech or body language and it's equipped with both mics and proximity sensors. Inside, it will be possible to install apps and upgrade the unit's functionality, the plan being to make Pepper far smarter than when you first bought it. It already understands 4,500 Japanese words, but perhaps more impressively, Pepper can apparently read into the tone used to understand its master's disposition. Maisonnier claims this will be the start of a robot revolution that rivals the rollout of the PC and Smartphone. According to him, "With Pepper, the future begins today."

Source: Engadget

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