RobotLAB and SoftBank Robotics America Announce Exclusive Channel Partnership to Offer Pepper and NAO in North America

RobotLAB will also distribute Whiz in select markets as part of the Whiz Partnership Program.

RobotLAB Inc., (RobotLAB) the leading robotics integrator, and SoftBank Robotics America (SBRA) announced that the humanoid robots Pepper and NAO are now exclusively available through RobotLAB in North America. The partnership also expands Pepper’s previous industry and STREAM education focus areas to a broader range of applications, and marks RobotLAB’s debut as one of SBRA’s Whiz Partners.

This latest iteration of the two companies’ collaboration builds upon their long-standing partnership in bringing SBRA’s B2B robotics solutions to market and moving innovative automation forward. RobotLAB has already deployed and supported thousands of robots in the field, including Pepper and NAO.

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“We are pleased to expand our partnership with SBRA to become the exclusive distributor of Pepper and NAO, while also adding a new solution into our collaborative portfolio with Whiz and Whiz Connect,” said Elad Inbar, CEO of RobotLAB. “SoftBank Robotics is known for commercializing robotics that make people’s lives safer and more connected, which matches our focus on smart, useful robots, especially in this new normal. As we continue to partner to bring the extraordinary to humanity’s day-to-day, RobotLAB will further develop the Pepper experience through the latest hardware models and our proprietary Robot Control AI platform.”

To help companies choose the right solution for their needs, the RobotLab is offering two hardware versions for Pepper:

• Pepper Premium
• Pepper Premium+Nav

The two robots share the same underlying hardware, with Pepper Premium+Nav also allowing for autonomous navigation, while Pepper Premium serves stationary applications. Pepper’s use cases continue to span education and research, hospitality and dining, retail banking, and healthcare and senior living, in addition to new industries.

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In the education and research market, RobotLAB offers Pepper and NAO together with a curriculum that helps students learn how to code and program the robot. Pepper Premium can be programmed using Python, C++, or the drag-and-drop interface, Choregraphe, while Pepper Premium+Nav can be programmed using Android Studio and Java. The Robot Control system is also available to customize programmability and cloud control as needed.

Both versions can be managed by RobotLAB’s cloud based, AI-powered Robot Control system. Robot Control introduces a breakthrough in social robot flexibility by allowing customers to choose the skills they want for their robot. These skills might include conversation, identification of people and situations, entertainment, or physical tours. The system also offers a comprehensive analytics tool that helps fleet managers study how people interact with the robots and change robot behaviors through the cloud based service.

“RobotLAB’s proven expertise in supporting our mission around humanoid robotics makes them the ideal exclusive partner for Pepper and NAO as we continue to grow our channel partnership network in North America,” said Brady Watkins, General Manager and Senior Vice President at SoftBank Robotics America. “They have a strong understanding of the need and demand for robotics in this new era of reoccupying public spaces and the health and safety benefits that distancing, information sharing, and smarter cleaning bring. This is a natural next step in our humanoid partnership as well as our broader vision on the future of connected workplace through all of our solutions, including Whiz.”

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