An "emotional" robot known to be designed to maintain a familiar association with shoppers.

At the same time, the robot has been brought to life therefore be cautious salespersons. The robot named Pepper by its developer Softbank, a Tokyo-based internet company, the humanoid robot struck conversations with shoppers and collected the opinions of customers.

The robot was billed as “emotional” by SoftBank president Masayoshi Son, who said it understands 70 to 80 percent of instantaneous conversations. The four-foot tall robot which moves on rollers is equipped with facial-recognition technology and a number of cameras, audio recorders and sensors.

Additionally known that the technology allows the robot to learn how to behave over time, instead of being programmed for specific tasks. Son was quoted as saying their aim is to develop affectionate robots that can make people smile. Time reported that the humanoid, which is set to go on sale in Japan in February 2015, will cost about $1,900 (Rs.112,147). --IANS

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