Starring Obsess, Starship, and Karakuri: check out the week's coolest retail technology plays
RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including an autonomous mobile robots milestone, a self-service pharmacy launch in Estonia, and a checkout-free technology first in the Southern Hemisphere.
Obsess
Obsess has announced the launch of AVA by Obsess, pitched as a first of its kind, self-serve solution that enables brand teams to build and customise virtual stores themselves.
The content management system (CMS) leverages proprietary 3D editing and rendering technology that enables companies to add and place products, embed rich media content, and customise merchandising and styling in virtual stores.
Ocado Group and Green Beans
Albert
Ahold Delhaize owned retailer Albert has announced, in partnership with Brain Corp and Tennant Co., that its fleet of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) deployed across its Czech Republic hypermarkets and two distribution centres have officially cleaned over 20 million square metres (215 million square feet), completing over 92,000 cleaning routes.
During 2023, it will almost double the number of stores with robot deployments.
“Last year we put a number of autonomous scrubbers into operation and this year we plan to continue to scale up their use. Altogether, almost double the number of robots will be operating in our stores by the end of March,” says Pavel Klemera, Operations Support Manager at Albert.
“Robots clean precisely, don´t skip any space and help our employees to save their effort so, they can use the time to elevate our customers’ experience.“
Starship Technologies
Starship Technologies reports that its delivery robots have passed the 10 million km mark (over six million miles) in terms of distance travelled around the world.
It claims that this is further than any other company in the industry, and more than six times that of the one million mile mark recently announced by self-driving car developers, Waymo and Cruise.
To hit this milestone, Starship’s 2,000+ strong fleet of robots have made more than four million autonomous deliveries globally, also an industry leading figure, and completed 140,000 road crossings around the world every day.
While they have been operating at the L4 level of autonomous driving since 2018, the company also reports that one of its robots recently completed a company record 24 deliveries in 16 hours 100% autonomously without any human intervention or oversight.
Grab2Go
Grab2Go has opened a pharmacy self-service solution in Estonia.
Customers can select the product they need, use their preferred method of payment, and the machine will dispense it immediately.
The solution can also be used in convenience and petrol stations to sell products such as drinks and beverages, snacks, and other food items.
In a press release, Grab2Go says: “With the necessary regulatory changes now in place, these innovative self-service pharmacies are set to become a game-changer in the healthcare industry.”
“By allowing customers to access a wide range of over-the-counter medicines and healthcare products, 24/7, we are bringing greater convenience and accessibility to those who need it most.”
Nando’s
Nando’s UK has become the first to trial Karakuri’s /FRYR automated fry line as it aims to deliver the perfect chips in its Park Royal restaurant.
This combines robotics, edge computing, and hyperscale data analysis to provide restaurants with production of up to 550 portions of chips per hour.
Cameron Roberts, Group Chief Operating Officer at Nando’s, says: “We want to deliver uplifting and memorable experiences for our customers, with delicious quality food and good value at the heart.”
“In testing Karakuri’s /FRYR, we wanted to see how we can further improve the quality, consistency, and availability of our chips, while meeting our environmental objectives of reducing food and oil waste and reducing energy consumption.”
AFL and Amazon
The AFL (Australian Football League) has announced that Marvel Stadium will become the first venue in the Southern Hemisphere to introduce Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology for checkout-free purchases.
This will be available at two outlets known as ‘The Runner’ - one food and beverage and one bar - in time for the early rounds of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
Fans will use their credit or debit card, or mobile wallet payment option at entry, collect their items, and leave the store without having to wait in line to checkout.
Just Walk Out technology is made possible by artificial intelligence like computer vision and deep learning techniques, including generative AI, to accurately determine who took what in a store.
Amazon says that it built synthetic datasets to mimic millions of realistic shopping scenarios, including variations in store format, lighting conditions, and even crowds of shoppers, to ensure accuracy in any environment.
The technology is currently in use at sports venues across the US, including TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics (NBA) and Boston Bruins (NHL), and Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Seattle Kraken (NHL).
Fans purchasing alcohol will be required to show their ID to a store attendant for age verification.
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