Pepper
Wheeled social humanoid used for greeting and information duties in shops, banks and airports, with about 17,000 units sold before production ended.
| Maker | Aldebaran |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| First shown | 2014 |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Height | 1.2 m |
| Mass | 29.6 kg |
| Top speed | 0.55 m/s (2 km/h) |
| Degrees of freedom | 20 |
| Runtime | 12 h |
| Actuation | 20 electric servo joints on a three-wheel omnidirectional base |
| Sensors | Lasers, sonar, infrared, 3D depth camera, two 2D cameras, four-microphone array, touch sensors |
| Autonomy | NAOqi framework with face and speech recognition and a chest tablet interface |
Pepper is 1.2 metres tall, weighs about 30 kilograms and has 20 degrees of freedom in its head, arms and hips, riding on a three-wheel omnidirectional base rather than legs. Lasers, sonar, infrared sensors, depth and 2D cameras and a microphone array feed a face and emotion recognition stack, and a chest tablet handles menus and payment flows. Battery life is around twelve hours in typical greeting use. Developed by Aldebaran in France under SoftBank ownership and launched in 2014, it was deployed in SoftBank Mobile stores, Carrefour and HSBC branches, cruise ships and airports; production stopped around 2021 and Aldebaran entered receivership in June 2025.
Of note
- About 17,000 units sold across roughly 70 countries
- Deployed in SoftBank Mobile stores, HSBC branches, Carrefour supermarkets and cruise ships
- Production halted around 2021 and maker Aldebaran placed in receivership in June 2025