Robots in Walmart

While the world will eventually see AI robots serving people in supermarkets in the future, there is a single task that they are already quite proficient in performing. Shelf Stacking is a routine and monotonous job which can be adequately performed by robots. While it will take away low paying jobs at the supermarket from humans, it will also make it much easier and faster for the store to maintain it’s inventory.

4D Retail Technology is a Canadian firm that has come up with a Segway mounted robot that can inventory an entire supermarket in about an hour. The robot called the Space Genius uses AI to roll through the aisles, while digital cameras take pictures and run them through an object recognition software.

This allows the robot to determine exactly what all is available on the shelves and in what quantity. It then lets the stackers know what needs to be replaced, making it possible for the customer to always find what they need on the shelves of the supermarket when they visit. Now that is a science project which need a fair bit of fine tuning, but will become a major asset to the retail industry.