SoftBank Robotics Plans App Store for Humanoid Pepper Robot
- Pepper is currently focused on business-to-business uses
- SoftBank Robotics plans to open up platform to developers
Pepper the humanoid robot, developed by SoftBank Group Corp., stands at the Pepper World 2016 event in Tokyo.
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The team behind Pepper, the humanoid robot from SoftBank Robotics, are planning a platform for the machine where developers create applications for everyday use, such as guarding your home or giving floors a vacuum clean.
Developers are already able to build Pepper apps using Android tools, however SoftBank Robotics is also considering opening up its Pepper platform -- similar to a mobile “app store” -- for developers to sell or market software to consumers, said Nicolas Boudot, EMEA sales director, in an interview with Bloomberg at Mobile World Congress Tuesday.