Drunk man kicks robot

A man has been arrested after he drunkenly lashed out at a robot in a Japanese shop.

The man, named as Kiichi Ishikawa by the Kanagawa Prefectural Police, reportedly kicked the robot in SoftBank – a telcommunication and internet company – after losing his temper with a member of staff.

Ishikawa admitted damaging property and explained he had acted the way he did because he didn’t like the attitude of the shop assistant.

The £1,000 robot in question, a “Pepper” robot, is thought to have been damaged in the attack as it now moves “more slowly” than before.

The Pepper robots have been available to buy in Japan since June this year and are described as “emotional” because of their ability to recognise human emotions.

The robot, in its way, then responds with its own simulation of the emotion being shown to it.

Perhaps in his inebriated state Ishikawa didn’t like the way the robot was looking at him? In any case, history does not, sadly, relate how the robot itself reacted to being kicked.