SoftBank Corp. unveiled on Thursday what it says is the world¡¯s first humanoid robot that can communicate and read people¡¯s emotions, and said it will go on sale to the general public next year.
CEO Masayoshi Son told a news conference in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, that ¡°100 years, 200 years or 300 years from now, people will probably recall today as a historic day in which computers changed.¡±
SoftBank teamed up with French robot maker Aldebaran Robotics SAS to make the humanoid robot, called the Pepper. The robot is equipped with an ¡°emotion engine¡± that can recognize emotions by reading facial expressions, body language and tone of voice.
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