Seven new supermarkets of the Lenta chain were opened in Moscow, where Promobot robots came to work together with ordinary employees.
Promobot robots can autonomously move through the halls, show promotional materials and communicate with customers, telling about promotions and network news. They also know how to recognize faces, which allows them to remember visitors and greet them the next time they meet.
One robot consultant is being introduced into each of the seven new supermarkets. Thanks to robots, Lenta plans to acquaint visitors with the updated line of its own products, draw attention to the newly opened supermarkets, and also please customers with high-tech service.
Robots-consultants are also being introduced in the foreign market. For example, in 2014, the Oshbot robot worked in a pilot mode in the Wallmart supermarket chain.
Compact (height only 152 cm) and light (weight - 38.5 kg) OSHbot can independently move between the shelves with goods, determine using built-in cameras and find the necessary goods through the search algorithm embedded in it.
But the robot's talents are not limited to this: the built-in 3D scanner recognizes all the objects seen. For example, if a customer brought an item with him and wants to buy a similar one, he can simply show it to the robot. He will tell you in a few seconds if there is such a product in stock and help you find it. For communication, the robot is equipped with two screens and speakers.
Unfortunately, the history of the Oshbot robot ended with a pilot implementation, as the developer company could not find the necessary funding for further development.
In Japan, Pepper robots were introduced into the retail industry. Pepper's robot is a humanoid robot, it has a head, two arms, it can move in space. The robot knows emotions such as joy, surprise, anger, doubt and sadness. It is able to analyze facial expressions, body language and words of a person. Based on this, he guesses the mood and adapts to it. For example, he will try to cheer you up by playing his favorite song!
Promotional video:
Pepper robot, Japan
Due to the fact that this robot was originally developed for home use, its main functionality is not tailored to work in the retail industry. However, in some Japanese stores, you can find a cheerful Pepper robot that is able to introduce visitors to the store's products.
The service robotics industry is developing quite actively. Russian companies actively support this direction. Today, one robot consultant is being introduced into each of the seven new supermarkets. The deal is the largest implementation of autonomous service robot consultants in retail to date. There were no similar events in Asia, Europe or the United States.
Oleg Kivokurtsev