a 60-year old drunk man who reportedly kicked an ’emotion-reading’ robot has been arrested in Japan.
The 60-year-old kicked “Pepper” the robot after he lost his temper at a staff member of SoftBank store an international Japanese telecommunications and internet company.
Pepper, who costs an estimated AUD$2,300, is an “emotional” robot which can recognise human emotions and respond with simulations of anger, joy and irritation. The robot sold out a minute after going on sale back in June 2015.
According to the site of French robotics firm Alderbaran that helped make the robot, Pepper is “an emotional robot, not a functional robot for domestic use with dish washer or vacuum cleaner functionalities. Pepper will help people grow, enhance their life, facilitate relationship, he will have fun with them, give some services and connect them with the outside world.”
After the incident the poor Pepper robot moves more slowly and its internal computer system may have been broken.
The original report at The Japan Times didn’t mention if Pepper reacted angrily to being kicked.
