SoftBank halts production of US$1,800 Pepper humanoid robot

A file photo of SoftBank’s robot ‘Pepper’ as a concierge to welcome customers in Taipei, Taiwan. — Reuters

SoftBank Group Corp has suspended production of its Pepper robot, shelving for now a project Masayoshi Son once personally championed as a symbol of his conglomerate’s ambitions in AI and technology.

The Japanese company halted assembly of the 198,000 yen (US$1,790 or RM7,433) robot in August after inventory piled up, but may decide to resume production in future, a SoftBank spokeswoman said. It’s now in discussions with its French robotics unit, which employs about 330 people, on potential job reductions, she said. Reuters reported earlier, citing unidentified sources, that SoftBank plans to cut roughly 50% of those positions in France by September.