Internet of Things: Pepper's Privacy Risks

The Pepper Robot is the first semi-humanoid robot that recognizes human faces and emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, and surprise. It is an automaton created to interact with humans - possessing the ability to hold a conversation as well as other special features such as dancing, posing for selfies, and even detecting an individual's age from simply analyzing the subject it is interacting with. Being an emotionally intelligent robot comes with its risks, some of which could pose a danger to the Smithsonian Institution - which was donated 24 robots to be utilized in museums. In this research project, these risks were determined, analyzed, and a risk mitigation report was put together by undergraduate students Muhammad Jamal and Benita Lalani, who worked for the Smithsonian Privacy Office during the summer of 2019. This project was completed with contributions from Danee Adams from the Smithsonian Institution.