Pepper and Asimo Robot get married

Asimo (left), first shown in 1996, walks, runs, dances and grips things. Pepper (right), which went on sale last year, doesn't have legs but is programmed to recognize mood swings in people it interacts with. now the tech behind them will be combined. dailymail

Is Honda's walking robot Asimo marrying Pepper, the chattering robot from SoftBank?

Automaker Honda Motor Co. and internet company SoftBank said they will work together on artificial intelligence to develop products with sensors and cameras that can converse with drivers.

Asimo, first shown in 1996, walks, runs, dances and grips things.

Pepper, which went on sale last year, doesn't have legs but is programmed to recognize mood swings in people it interacts with.

Major automakers and technology companies are interested in robotics to improve driving safety and comfort.

But experts say humans are still better at driving overall than the smartest machine.

Honda said it's focusing on AI research with a new laboratory in Tokyo set to open in September.

SoftBank said its robotics unit Cocoro SB, which is researching cloud-based artificial intelligence, will work with Honda on research that seeks to harmonize mobility with people, so that drivers can feel a kind of friendship with their vehicles.

SoftBank said it was a pioneer in making machines that can be friends with people through its Pepper robot.

Tokyo-based Honda's robotics division went through some soul-searching when Asimo was widely criticized as useless when it could not help with the nuclear accident at the Fukushima plant, which sank into meltdowns after the March 2011 tsunami.

Among Japan's automakers, Toyota Motor Corp. has invested $1 billion in a Silicon Valley-based robotics research unit to develop not only safety features but also self-driving vehicles.

Nissan Motor Co. has announced it will start selling soon in Japan a vehicle equipped with self-driving technology, and plans similar products overseas.

Safety worries have grown after a recent fatal crash involving U.S. electric car maker Tesla Motors' vehicle with its semi-autonomous Autopilot system. 

Like Nissan's system, it can maintain a set speed and keep the car within its lanes.

It comes on the heels of its $32 billion takeover of chip designer ARM Holdings, SoftBank Corp founder Masayoshi Son is embarking on another 'crazy idea': talking cars that can read a driver's emotions.

HOW THE AI CAR COMPANION WILL WORK 

Softbank and Honda described a future in which Honda cars could speak and interact with their drivers via cloud-based technology based on SoftBank's 'Pepper' robot, a life-sized robot that can read human emotions.

The two companies would research ways to assess a driver's speech, along with other data compiled by vehicle sensors and cameras, to gauge the driver's emotions and allow the vehicle to engage in conversation.

As a result, vehicles would be able to offer advice and support to drivers, such as during challenging driving or parking situations, while also providing company to drivers on long, solitary trips.

The Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation said on Thursday it was teaming up with Honda Motor Co to look at ways of applying SoftBank's humanoid robotic technology to cars so they can communicate with drivers, perhaps helping them park or offering company on long trips.

Dailymail.com was given a rare interview with Pepper, the Japanese robot already working in several stores across Asia, at a Mastercard event in New York. dailymail

The announcement comes after SoftBank on Monday agreed to buy British chip designer ARM Holdings, which Son believes will play a central role in the tech industry's shift to the 'internet of things' (IoT).

Speaking at an event in Tokyo, Softbank and Honda described a future in which Honda cars could speak and interact with their drivers via cloud-based technology based on SoftBank's 'Pepper' robot, a life-sized robot that can read human emotions.

'Imagine if robots, with their super intelligence, devoted themselves to humans,' Son said.

'And imagine that cars themselves became supercomputers or robots one day. Honda will be the first to adopt this technology.'

The two companies would research ways to assess a driver's speech, along with other data compiled by vehicle sensors and cameras, to gauge the driver's emotions and allow the vehicle to engage in conversation.

As a result, vehicles would be able to offer advice and support to drivers, such as during challenging driving or parking situations, while also providing company to drivers on long, solitary trips.

WILL ROBOTS TAKE YOUR JOB? 

As robots increasingly make their way into the workforce, some have argued that they will soon be taking over many traditionally human jobs.

In an interview with Fox Business, former McDonalds USA CEO Ed Rensi argued that the $15/hour minimum wage raise will bring ‘job loss like you can’t believe.’

He argued that it would be cheaper for companies to instead purchase robotic devices.

‘If you look at the robotic devices that are coming into the restaurant industry -- it’s cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who’s inefficient making $15 an hour bagging French fries,’ Rensi said.

Foxconn, a supplier for Apple and Samsung, has already reduced its human workforce drastically, The South China Morning Post reports.

One factory has now ‘reduced employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000, thanks to the introduction of robots,’ an official told the Post.

And, they predict more companies will soon follow, with up to 600 firms reporting similar plans in a government survey. 

SoftBank has been making an aggressive push into AI, robotics and the 'internet of things (IoT),' a network of devices, vehicles and building sensors that collect, exchange and feed data into AI and robots.

Son has repeatedly said that IoT would bring 'the biggest paradigm shift ever' in the tech industry.

The tie-up with Honda comes as automakers compete to develop self-driving cars, which many plan to bring to market in the coming years.

Japan's No. 3 automaker by vehicle sales has been expanding research into artificial intelligence technology, announcing last month that it would establish a research facility in Tokyo in September.