Japanese telecom SoftBank has a new robot that it claims can recognize human emotion thanks to technology that allows it to "communicate through emotion, speech, or body language." Pepper is also equipped with microphones and proximity sensors, and will use cloud-based computing to share data to improve their emotion-recognition functions. Pepper, which is now serving customers at SoftBank stores in Tokyo, will go on sale to the public next year for about $2,000. The robots could someday act as babysitters, nurses, and emergency medical personnel.
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