“Hey, Pepper! How are you?”

“I am good, thank you very much. You look down. How about a cup of coffee?”

“I’m good, but thanks.” 

Imagine everything technology does for us. Now, imagine technology being able to help you by using physical contact and communicating with you in human-like ways, instead of in a “robot voice”. Now that really is amazing! Meet Pepper, the new and improved robot.

To begin, Pepper is not an ordinary robot; he enjoys interacting with you. Softbank’s Robotics, the company that created Pepper, says, “Pepper is the first humanoid robot capable of recognizing the principal human emotions and adapting his behavior to the mood of his interlocutor.” Softbank’s robotics also says that Pepper reacts through your voice and your facial recognition. There is a screen on his chest so that you can watch things or see how Pepper feels. Pepper expresses his emotions by using physical movements with his body just like humans, and he is made to speak in the most natural way possible.

To top that off, coders are planning to make Pepper a business advisor! Businesspeople can ask Pepper for directions or talk about what a company is about. Users can even receive information from him. On their website, Softbank’s Robotics tells businesses, “Spark the curiosity of your customers by letting Pepper guide them through a discovery of your products and services. Using interactive animations and demonstrations, Pepper will entertain your customers, inform them and optimize the performance of your sales force.” As you can see, Pepper can do many more things than just being someone to talk to. Who knows, Peppers may be in every single business in the future.

Although Pepper is really cool, he’s still a work in progress. Peppers are ready for sale, but coders from all over the world are still improving them. So what do you think? Are you ready to spice up your world with Pepper?