---
title: "Pepper the Robot Is Coming To America (and Android Developers)"
description: "Softbank Robotics announced it is setting up its first American outpost in San Francisco to bring Pepper, the \"emotional robot,\" to the U.S. The company is also offering a software development kit on the Android platform for the robot."
date: "2016-05-23"
modified: "2016-05-23"
authors:
  - name: "Colin Aboy"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/colin"
url: "https://futurism.com/robot-pepper-is-coming-to-america-with-sdk-for-android"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "coming to the U.S."
  - "Pepper"
  - "Softbank"
---

# Pepper the Robot Is Coming To America (and Android Developers)

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/B-61.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="http://mashable.com/" target="\_blank"\>LANCE ULANOFF/MASHABLE\</a\>\</em\>*

Last week's Google I/O event certainly showcased where future web and mobile technologies are headed. At the event, Japan-based [Softbank Robotics Corp.](<http://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/group/sbr/>) announced it is finally taking its popular "emotional robot," Pepper, onto U.S. soil...complete with extra [goodies for developers](<http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/05/18/google-calling-all-android-robot-programmers/84461778/>).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgnPN8r8RX4

The company is opening its first outpost in San Francisco to address local development in the States. With this move comes more exciting news: the robot, which currently runs on Linux, will be able to run on Android, together with a software development kit (SDK).

The kit is perfect for those seeking to freely and creatively work on the potential of Pepper, since its arrival might open up a variety of ways to put it to good use.

The developers who have the SDK, however, won't get their own Pepper (unless they buy one), but will instead have a [virtual version](<https://futurism.com/ibm-sticks-watsons-brain-into-a-friendly-virtual-assistant>) of the robot to work with.