It was found that the SoftBank Group is also reducing its development system by suspending production of humanoid robots handled by its subsidiary due to sluggish sales and reducing the number of personnel at overseas development bases.
According to a company engaged in the robot business in the SoftBank Group, production of the humanoid robot "Pepper" has been temporarily suspended at the outsourced Taiwanese company since last summer.
The reason is that while the number of commercial facilities that are refraining from operating in stores is increasing due to the influence of the new coronavirus, sales are not increasing in Europe and the United States, so it is no longer necessary to increase inventory for rental.
In addition to reducing and relocating personnel in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, we are also reducing the system by making adjustments to reduce personnel at our base in France, which has 330 employees and is the center of development.
It has attracted attention as it is equipped with emotion recognition technology and is used in office reception and commercial facilities, but six years have passed since its launch, and it is time to review its strategy.
On the other hand, sales are continuing, and if demand picks up, we will consider resuming production.
The company says, "Because it is the" face "of the company, we would like to review our strategy and develop other robots while continuing our business."