SoftBank Group Corp. and SoftBank Robotics Corp. will participate in the "Pepper Social Contribution Program 2", which lends "Pepper" to schools, in addition to the existing elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools, as well as new universities and universities. Added colleges of technology and vocational schools.

　"Pepper Social Contribution Program 2" is a humanoid robot "Pepper (Pepper)" that Softbank is working on as an educational institution to promote the expansion of programming education for children who will lead the future society coexisting with AI and smart robots. Pepper) ”is rented for 1 yen per unit per month, and is an initiative to support the development of logical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity through programming education. Applications for participation have been accepted since August 2.

　Until now, elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, colleges of technology, special needs schools, and other school corporations approved by the Softbank Group were targeted for participation, but they are active in that era in anticipation of the era of coexistence and coexistence with robots. In consideration of the further increasing need for human resources who can do it, the participation target was expanded to universities, colleges of technology, and vocational schools.

　The conditions and rules for participation in the program include programming lessons of 1 minutes or more per class per year (equivalent to 270 minutes x 45 lessons in elementary school) every year, and Pepper's rental period is 6 months. There are cases where the contract cannot be canceled halfway.