Emotional Robot with "Feelings" to Sell for the Very First Time on Japanese Market

Pepper, the chatty and charming robot is said to have the ability to respond to human emotions and will go on sale in Japan this weekend.

Developed by Aldebaran, a subsidiary of Japan's SoftBank Roboticc Corporation, Pepper is a 4 feet tall humanoid robot and has been fitted with an array of high definition cameras, microphones and depth sensors.

The company is currently planning to sell 1000 robots every month with each being valued at $1600.

Through the sensors and cameras, Pepper has the ability to detect your tone of voice and read your body language.

Although limited in what he can do, the robot can take selfies, dance around a little and is also said to have the presence of mind to not constantly run into you which is a major drawback with the robots of today.

Pepper has also been designed to express his own set of emotions. From letting out an exasperated sigh to raising his voice to feeling happy when praised, the robot has been designed to serve as a companion.

Robotic expert, Professor Noel Sharkey said, "It looks excellent, and I think that it is good at conveying human-like gestures - but the way it detects human emotions might be over-hyped."

"I think that they are over-claiming on its speech functions, too. The conversations are very one-sided, and it asks a lot of questions," he added.

The professor is also not convinced the robot will be a big hit in Japan.

"There is talk of it being an assistant, but it can't lift anything, so it is really a very limited companion," he said.