Robot obviously failed to read man's emotions.
The clerk was not injured, the police said. Security footage shows the drunken Ishikawa kicking the robot, according to the police. Investigators said the damaged Pepper now moves slower and that its internal computer system may have been broken.
Here's why I think this is news: Robots are cute, funny, helpful. They do things that humans don't want to do, like dismantle bombs. Humans have a bit of sibling rivalry with our robot friends (and soon-to-be robot overlords). Consequently, we're a little happy when a robot -- that really should know better -- gets himself beaten up for not realizing that a pissed off, drunken man might beat it up. The programmers teach the bots to recognize emotions, but not to run away from the bad guys.
Meanwhile, the human that originally pissed off the drunken man did not get hurt.
I don't think this is as much a story about a man lashing out at a robot, I think it's a story of a man lashing out at a piece of furniture because he can't lash out at another human.
According to the story, the drunk got mad at a clerk then kicked Pepper to show his disapproval.
Where I think it'll be interesting when these robots have been humanized enough that taking your rage out on a robot isn't seen as hitting property, but a type of assault. I think it'll be a slow and fascinating transition.