Furious Japanese man attacks phone shop robot

[ScarTissue]

Furious Japanese man attacks phone shop robot

AFP
September 9, 2015, 11:44 pm

A Japanese man who allegedly attacked a phone shop robot in a drink-fuelled rage because he was angry at customer service has been arrested, media said.

Kiichi Ishikawa, 60, was captured on security camera aiming a kick at the 120-centimetre (four-foot) -tall Pepper, a talking android used by mobile phone chain SoftBank to gather customer feedback.

Children surround robot Pepper at a store in Tokyo. The 121-centimeter (four-foot) tall white machine-on-wheels, offers ardent attention, cool dance moves, and small talk. Photo: AP/Shizuo Kambayashi

Reports suggested Ishikawa, who appeared to have been drinking, was annoyed at his treatment at the hands of a human member of staff, and took his annoyance out on the automaton.

Pepper, a moon-faced robot on rollers that has what looks like a tablet computer attached to its plastic body, has been billed by its makers as a human companion capable of understanding language and emotion.

Pepper has cameras, lasers and infrared in its hairless head so it can detect human faces. Photo: Getty

The alleged attack on Sunday morning in a store in Kanagawa, near Tokyo, appeared to have slowed the speed of its reactions and dulled its movement, according to Sponichi, a tabloid newspaper.

Kanagawa prefecture police told AFP they were investigating how much it will cost to fix the robot, which is on sale at 198,000 yen ($1,600) plus monthly fees.

SoftBank has hundreds of Peppers in its stores nationwide.

As well as being offered for sale as a companion in robot-obsessed Japan, Pepper is also being used to sell coffee machines in one chain and greet customers at a Japanese bank.