Solar Power Equipment is a broad product category that covers a wide range of equipment and systems used to convert solar energy into electricity. The following is a detailed description of the Solar Power Equipment product category: Solar light price, solar power equipment system, solar camera, small solar panel Foshan Keylewatt Technology Co., LTD , https://www.klwenergy.com
Solar Power Equipment mainly refers to the use of solar photovoltaic effect or photothermal effect, the solar radiation directly converted into electrical energy or heat equipment. These devices are widely used in the home, commercial, industrial and utility sectors and are an important part of the renewable energy sector.
With the global attention to renewable energy and the continuous progress of Solar energy technology, the Solar Power Equipment market is showing a rapid growth trend. As one of the world's largest markets for solar cell (photovoltaic) equipment, China has many excellent manufacturers and brands. These manufacturers continue to introduce innovative products and technological solutions to promote the continued development of the solar power industry.
Solar Power Equipment is a diverse product category that covers a wide range of equipment and systems from solar photovoltaic panels to solar energy storage systems. These devices and technologies play an important role in promoting the development of renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting sustainable economic development. With the continuous progress of technology and the continuous expansion of the market, the future prospects of Solar Power Equipment will be more broad.
(Original Title: Insolvency: What Caused the Embarrassment of the Pepper Robot?)
He was a hybrid. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he had gathered thousands of features into one. He experienced countless praises and doubts. Many believed he would be remembered in history. Now, however, he finds himself slightly embarrassed...
This is Pepper.
Since its debut in 2014, Pepper has become an iconic product in the "emotional robot" space and sparked significant interest. Yet, within a short span of three years, the robotics industry has undergone dramatic changes, leaving Pepper struggling to keep pace.
Just last week, Nikkei reported on Pepper's situation: Softbank Group’s 2016 fiscal year report, submitted to the Kanto Finance Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, revealed that Softbank Robotics Holdings Corp (SBRH), which develops and sells Pepper, had liabilities exceeding its assets by 31.4 billion yen (approximately 1.88 billion yuan). Media reports indicate that SBRH has incurred losses for three consecutive years, with a loss of 2.3 billion yen in fiscal 2014 and a net loss of 11.7 billion yen in 2015. The primary cause of these losses is said to be the low profitability and massive R&D investment associated with the Pepper robot.
What led to Pepper's current predicament? Where does Pepper's future lie?
The Pioneer Created the Aura Around Pepper
In 2012, Softbank acquired Aldebaran, the French robotics company behind the well-known Nao robot, renaming it Softbank Robot Holdings. Pepper was the first project undertaken by SBRH.
On June 5, 2014, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son unveiled Pepper to the world at a press conference that would go down in robotics history. Son was visibly excited as he announced the birth of a robot capable of reading human emotions.
Following the press conference, Pepper became a frequent feature in major technology media outlets, overshadowing many other robotic innovations.
Even today, mentioning Pepper remains a significant topic. How did Pepper reach its peak? What led to its downfall?
Lei Feng Network (public account: Lei Feng Network) feels this can be roughly summarized in two points: Pioneering spirit and backing.
Pioneer
Pepper’s standing in the robotics field largely stems from its title: "the first robot capable of reading human emotions." The word "first" is crucial.
In 2014, the artificial intelligence trend wasn’t as prominent as it is today. Most people’s understanding of robots remained rooted in science fiction films. Consumer and service robots were still in their infancy, more toy-like than functional.
In this environment, the introduction of a robot capable of reading human emotions and engaging in meaningful conversations was enough to pique public curiosity, making Pepper famous and boosting sales.
Backing
When Pepper was introduced, he had two major backers. One was Softbank Group, a Japanese conglomerate, providing financial support. The other was Aldebaran, a small humanoid robotics company founded in France over a decade earlier, known for the successful Nao robot, which lent technical credibility.
However, this was not enough.
In June 2015, Alibaba and Foxconn collectively invested 14.5 billion yen (approximately 730 million yuan) in SBRH to promote Pepper’s global development and application.
Besides Aldebaran, which was relatively unknown outside tech circles, Softbank, Alibaba, and Foxconn are all big names in the tech world. With such backing, people naturally had high expectations for Pepper.
What Led to Pepper's Current Predicament?
On February 27, 2015, the first 300 developer units of Pepper were sold out in a minute. By June of the same year, SBRH began selling 1,000 Peppers each month, and by the end of the year, the 1,000 units sold monthly via Softbank's official website were sold out within minutes.
While these sales figures seemed impressive, they sparked widespread skepticism. Various media outlets and evaluation agencies criticized Pepper’s functionality and practicality. This dissatisfaction has contributed to Pepper’s gradual decline over the past two years. Looking back, Pepper’s trajectory seems to mirror a rise and fall.
Internal Factors:
As for Pepper itself, it’s not a great product.
Standing at only 121 centimeters tall, Pepper lacks legs and relies on a triangular wheeled base. Overall, it doesn’t stand out.
Externally, despite having two arms and hands, foreign media evaluations suggest these arms don’t contribute much to productivity. Some media outlets have even joked, "Its fingers are too weak to even offer a cup of tea."
Beyond these arms, the robot lacks any substantial features to fulfill its "service" function.
Moving beyond its physical design, language ability was supposed to be Pepper’s strongest suit. However, its linguistic capabilities have been underwhelming. Previous reports by Lei Feng cited evaluations from the domestic assessment platform Zealer, quoting Chief Assessor Wang Zuru’s critique of Pepper:
"The robot might not accurately recognize human emotions. Communication is often lacking. While it may continue chatting, regardless of what you say, it seems lively but actually follows pre-programmed routines. It may not respond flexibly to context, and at best, it grabs some keywords to continue the conversation."
This isn’t an isolated opinion; foreign assessment agencies have similarly critiqued Pepper. The severe lack of Pepper’s intelligence has led to its downfall. Although Softbank later collaborated with IBM to integrate Watson AI into Pepper, this move did little to restore its credibility.
Team Integration Challenges and Development Obstacles
Before, foreign media reported a detail:
Aldebaran was accustomed to a flat work structure in France. After being acquired by Softbank, they struggled to adapt to Softbank’s corporate culture. The business manager overseeing SBRH spoke neither English nor French, causing high communication costs.
Additionally, Softbank outsourced key functions like voice, visual, and emotional analysis. Aldebaran, which previously handled these tasks, became increasingly marginalized, ultimately leading to the departure of Aldebaran’s founder and core team from Softbank.
The immature nature of Pepper’s product, along with the original team’s conflict with Softbank and other issues, culminated in the primary internal cause of Pepper’s decline.
External Factors:
Pepper’s slow pace delayed its entry into the optimal service robot market timing.
In 2016, new generations of companion robots/service robotics startups gained prominence. Companies under the banner of robots utilized mature voice semantic systems and open-source Android systems to create tablets capable of conversing. Though their functions weren’t necessarily superior to Pepper, their prices were significantly lower than Pepper’s high selling price of 10,000 yuan (converted from the Japanese local console price). Users needed to subscribe to the “Pepper Basic Plan,†paying 750 yuan per month for 36 months, plus an additional 500 yuan per month for insurance, without including taxes. In three years, the user effectively spent 50,000 yuan on Pepper. Many Chinese manufacturers, leveraging strong local supply chains and ODM capabilities, copied Pepper, creating similar robots at a fraction of the cost—sometimes one-third, one-fourth, or even one-tenth.
The bustling market consumed most opportunities that should have belonged to Pepper.
The transformation market remains uncertain, with doubts surrounding Pepper’s localization and introduction strategy in China.
Seeing that the "peer-to-peer robots" slogan couldn't attract customers, Pepper shifted focus to becoming a "lobby guide robot" in airports and banks. However, as mentioned earlier, the market offered few opportunities.
In June 2016, Alibaba and Softbank jointly established Zhejiang Alibaba Robotics Co., Ltd., primarily responsible for Pepper’s sales in China to open the Chinese market. However, Pepper’s move to China proved confusing:
Previously, Pepper had used a slightly reduced sales price and an open system to attract B-side users. Upon arriving in China, Alibaba set the price at 198,000 yuan, four times higher than the local price in Japan! Additionally, they abandoned Pepper’s NaoQi system, opting instead for their own YunOS, restricting developer access.
Both pricing and restructuring adjustments have left Pepper struggling.
The Technology in the Big Market Isn’t Yet Mature.
In fact, as a service robot, no matter the external cause, we cannot overlook the broader market issues.
Industry insiders told Lei Feng Network that NLP is one of the hardest challenges in AI development. Language is the core and soul of robots like Pepper. Without solving this issue, not only Pepper but also other service robots have no room to survive. From past experience, the companion robot market, which once boomed, has cooled significantly.
The Future of Pepper
SBRH, Pepper’s company, is now insolvent. However, it seems Softbank isn’t ready to give up.
Not long ago, Son Masayoshi presided over the acquisition of Google’s Boston Dynamics and Japan’s bipedal robot Schaft. The layout for the robot ecosystem is already underway. Pepper will certainly be part of this ecosystem, but its future role remains uncertain.
Looking back at Pepper’s rise and fall, it’s inevitable that our analysis might seem like "after-the-fact." However, history is not only random but also inevitable. During a recent chat, a robotics insider told Lei Feng Network:
The previous emotional service robots are slowly being replaced by smart speakers. Does this mean that household robots are shifting towards practicality? That is, focusing less on human-like appearance and mobility, and more on smarter algorithms and better human-computer interaction experiences.
It’s also clear that "intelligence" is Pepper’s core, and "greater intelligence" is Pepper’s way out—and the way out for "Peppers" (all consumer-grade service robots).
[Insert Image]