... entertain and provide emotional support for people. At market launch, the robot system supports around 200 apps that can be downloaded via the tablet. Further - sometimes surprising - apps will be unlocked the more time the human spends with the robot. 'Pepper' has twelve hours of energy. When its battery runs low, it automatically moves to its charging station. Initially, the Japanese telecommunications group SoftBank, which has owned Aldebaran Robotics since last year, is only selling the empathic robot in Japan. International sales are planned, but no official date has yet been announced. The price: 198,000 yen - the equivalent of around 1,500 euros. An additional 24,600 yen (over 180 euros) per month is added for the necessary insurance and a mobile tariff - with a term of three years.