SoftBank of Japan is currently working on human-like robots that are known as “Pepper” that the company intends to make use of in order to handle its cellphone stores, at least according to a couple of informants who are familiar with the matter. This particular move is meant to target the expanding mobile phone market as well as increasing SoftBank’s technological reach among the masses. This particular plan was announced by SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son.
As for the kind of technologies used by SoftBank, it will not be of the Sentinel Mark X variety, but rather, the one developed by French robotics company Aldebaran. Such robots will be outsourced to Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd., which is the same company that has churned out its fair share of iPhones in the past, raising controversies along the way with suicidal deaths and the ilk.
It remains to be seen just when these robots will be ready for action, but some of them ought to be implemented across various stores over the course of this summer, and hopefully, it will result in a household robot eventually that could end up providing relevant nursing care for the elderly. This is important, since Japan happens to have one of the most rapidly aging population in the world, and robotics could serve as an answer in the long run.