Pepper, the humanoid robot, is a familiar face on campus at Saint Joseph's University. Typically used to greet prospective students and families for Open Houses and Accepted Student Days, Pepper is arguably one of the most memorable parts of a student's first visit to SJU.  To the SJU community, Pepper is known as "Iggy", a student-body selected name inspired by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. However, the impact of the robot goes beyond Hawk Hill.

Through a collaboration with Bancroft in New Jersey, Pepper is also being explored as a tool to support individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities. This project examines how AI-enabled features in Pepper can help create meaningful, personalized experiences through custom activity sessions tailored to participants’ physical and cognitive abilities, interests, and support needs.

During these sessions, Pepper’s tablet displays visual activities, while built-in speakers can play sounds, music, or spoken prompts that narrate what appears on the screen. Pepper also has cameras that allow the robot to detect faces and turn its head toward participants, helping make interactions feel more responsive and engaging.