SoftBank's Next Robot After Pepper Skips Chit Chat, Mops Floors

Pepper humanoid robot on Nov. 2.Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
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SoftBank Group Corp. is introducing a new robot, but unlike the talkative Pepper that went on sale three years ago, this one will skip the chit chat and just mop the floors.

Whiz, an autonomous floor-cleaning machine for businesses, will go on sale in Japan in February, the company announced Monday. The 32-kilogram machine is powered by self-driving software and an array of sensors from Brain Corp., a San Diego-based startup that is part of SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund. It will be available for rent for 25,000 yen ($222) a month.