- Pepper will sell for 198,000 yen (£1,000), and businesses will be able to rent it for 1,500 yen an hour. Although the upfront price is relatively cheap for a sophisticated robot – SoftBank is actually selling it at below manufacturing costs – customers will also have to pay monthly service fees of up to 24,000 yen and sign up to a three-year contract.
- There will be 100 apps available for download at launch. The robots will be manufactured by FoxConn. Chinese online retailer Alibaba is also partnering. Both are investing $118m in SoftBank’s robotic division and will take 20% shares in the company.
- Featuring more than 20 motors and highly articulated arms, Pepper is being touted as a household robot, assisting elderly people or for use in a family.