SoftBank's robot Pepper to be rolled out in Taiwan later this year

TS Financial Holding Co

25/07/2016 11:14

TAIPEI, July 25 (Reuters) - SoftBank Corp's  9984.T  
human-like robot Pepper will be rolled out in Taiwan later this 
year with about 100 rented units making their appearance in some 
banks and Carrefour SA  CARR.PA  shops, executives handling 
Pepper's sales in the island said on Monday.    
    Taiwan is set to become one of the first markets outside of 
Japan to launch Pepper, a key plank in SoftBank founder 
Masayoshi Son's vision of future technology centred on 'internet 
of things', a network of devices, vehicles and building sensors 
that collect and exchange data. 
    The island is also home of the robot's contract maker 
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co 
 2317.TW .  
    However, Pepper won't be available for sale or to consumers 
yet in Taiwan, which like many other markets, has yet to widely  
adopt human-like robots as part of a regular lifestyle.  
    The goal is to rent out 60 robots a month by sometime in the 
first half of 2017, Foxconn executive director Lu Fang-ming told 
reporters at a briefing. 
    The banking units of First Financial Holding Co  2892.TW  
and Taishin Financial Holding Co  2887.TW , the life insurance 
arm of Cathay Financial Holding Co  2882.TW  and Taiwanese 
telecommunication carrier Asia Pacific Telecom Co  3682.TW  are 
expected to put Pepper into their frontline service to support 
the basic needs of customers, said Lu, who is also chairman of 
Asia Pacific Telecom. 
    Carrefour plans to start by putting two Pepper robots into 
its shops in Taiwan, said Marilyn Su, national marketing 
director for the French retailer. Su said the first mission for 
the robot is to get to know the customers and see how they 
interact with Pepper, especially children, before ordering any 
more.  
    Foxconn unit Perobot Co, which is in charge of sales and 
maintenance for Pepper in Taiwan, said Pepper is available for 
lease in a two-year contract at T$26,888 ($836.67) per month. 
($1 = 32.1370 Taiwan dollars) 
 
 (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) 
 ((jr.wu@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2500 4881; Reuters 
Messaging: jr.wu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SOFTBANK ROBOT/TAIWAN