The technology will transform existing machines, such as cars, long before it allows the creation of androids, says Robin Harding for the Financial Times. HONG KONG: Pepper the humanoid robot was born in 2014. It enjoyed a brief wave of hype, including a visit to the Financial Times to meet the editor. “This is a robot that behaves autonomously, powered by love,” declared Masayoshi Son, the head of its main backer, SoftBank. Alibaba and Foxconn also invested hundreds of millions in the effort