Japan's emotionally enhanced robots -- and the people who love them

"I do believe'love' exists between Pepper and I," Tomomi Ota declares. "But it is not the kind of love one has for a lover, but rather for a family member." Since November 2014, Ota has been sharing her life with the humanoid robot Pepper, touted as the very first robot with "a heart." A media design researcher at Keio University and professor of music at the Osaka College of Music, Ota travels with the 1.2 meter-tall, 28-kilogram bot by train, taking her wheeled partner to restaurants and cafes. Occasionally, she also attends wedding ceremonies with her Pepper as a companion.