SoftBank's Pepper Robots Get Jobs Selling Coffee Machines

Japanese companies have long relied on robots, and with good reason: High wages and a shrinking population have pushed manufacturers looking for improved productivity to the forefront of robotic technology. The country’s third-richest man, Takemitsu Takizaki, is the founder and chairman of Keyence, an Osaka manufacturer of sensors used in factory automation.

Japanese engineers have also tried, with less success, to roll out all sorts of cool machines for consumers. Remember Sony’s robotic pet? In 1999, the company introduced the AIBO, an electronic dog that Sony promised would be the beginning of “an entirely new market for robot entertainment.“