SoftBank is bringing its affordable android to the United States next year

Advertised as the “first personal robot with emotions,” Pepper is SoftBank’s attempt at introducing affordable androids to the common man. According to Bloomberg, US residents can look forward to purchasing a Pepper of their own from Sprint stores by next summer, following its Japanese release in February. SoftBank Robotics CEO Fumihide Tomizawa told Bloomberg that he would not be surprised if sales were “half to business and half to consumers.” The company expects to make money from applications and personalization-related content, both of which may transform the 4-foot-tall robot into a more approachable entity. Pepper was announced during a press conference in June along with its startlingly low price of ¥198,000 (around $1,930). SoftBank has yet to reveal how much Pepper will cost in the US.

Billionaire Masayoshi Son will start selling his humanoid robots named “Pepper” at Sprint Corp. (S) stores in the U.S. by next summer, part of SoftBank Corp.’s push to take the technology beyond factory floors. SoftBank also has received between 300 and 400 inquiries about Pepper from companies in finance, food service and education, Fumihide Tomizawa, chief executive officer of SoftBank Robotics, said yesterday. The 1.2 meter (4 foot) robot dances, makes jokes and estimates human emotions based on expressions. Pepper will go in sale in Japan in February for 198,000 yen ($1,900) while the company hasn’t set a U.S. price. SoftBank, which paid $22 billion for control of Sprint last year, is investing in robotics as Japan seeks to double the value of domestic production to 2.41 trillion yen by 2020. SoftBank has developed an operating system that controls robots in the same way Google Inc.’s Android software runs smartphones, with the platform open to customization for use in construction, health care and entertainment industries. “We will sell Pepper in the United States within a year after gathering information in Japan,” Tomizawa said. “I won’t be surprised if Pepper sales will be half to business and half to consumers.” SoftBank Robotics was established as a subsidiary in July to direct the company’s business and sell Pepper, which is equipped with a laser sensor and 12 hours of battery life.