Written by: John Vibes at theantimedia.org

One of Japan’s largest cellphone carriers, SoftBank Mobile, has created the first humanoid robot that is designed specifically for living with humans.

The company claims that the robot, Pepper, is the first example of artificial intelligence that can actually feel and understand emotion. However, a quick demonstration with Pepper shows that it has a difficult time with emotion, and is in fact a bit of an egomaniac.

Regardless of the question that it is asked, any conversation usually leads back to Pepper, and its rivalry with the iPhone.

Pepper is not designed to help around the house, but instead is designed to help psychologically by providing companionship for people.

The robot’s head has four microphones, two HD cameras (in the mouth and forehead), and a 3-D depth sensor (behind the eyes). There’s a gyroscope in the torso and touch sensors in the head and hands. The mobile base has two sonars, six lasers, three bumper sensors, and a gyro.

Pepper is scheduled for release in Japan this month and will cost roughly $1,931.