News

Humanoid robot coming to a retailer near you

October 28, 2016

SoftBank Robotics is focused on getting a humanoid robot, Pepper, into every retailer and it won't just be giving customer service.

The robot, according to an Inc. report, could soon be offering nutrition advice on items in grocery stores, assessing customer reactions while shopping and conversing with consumers during the retail interaction.

"Pepper is the next computing platform after mobile," Steve Carlin, general manager and vice president of SoftBank Robotics America, told Inc. The company’s 4-foot-tall robot should be ready for sale in the U.S. by year's end, and about 10,000 are already working in retail in Europe and Asia. They cost between $18,000 and $20,000.