Softbank Debuts New Solution To Easily Program Pepper The Robot

Softbank has debuted Promoter, a browser-based solution that lets anyone customize Pepper the robot’s movements.

According to TechCrunch, the Promoter application combines choosing between responses and filling out text forms in order to provide a relatively differentiated experience when the robot interacts with customers.

The new solution — which the company says is the first of many — will hopefully allow the robot to grab a customer’s attention in front of a store and convince them to share important contact and other marketable information on its tablet.

The company says using the app requires “a Facebook level of user,” which TechCrunch confirmed after testing out a demo of the product. The report back is that Promoter has some interesting tricks, like tailoring responses based on the system’s attempts to determine age, gender and emotional reactions based on visual data.

The company has promised to expand Pepper’s potential usability and has been aggressive about opening up the robot to makers to showcase its potential functions. Currently, though, Pepper, which has a starting cost of $25,000 for a retail package, has been mostly limited to being a highly articulated mobile kiosk.

Pepper launches in the United States in July.