Robotics & Automation News

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Stop & Shop installs robotic bakery ‘Breadbot’ at its Massachusetts store

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Stop & Shop has teamed up with the Wilkinson Baking Company to install the Mini Bakery, also known as “Breadbot”, at its Milford, Massachusetts, store.

Stop & Shop is the only grocer on the East Coast with The Mini Bakery, offering sandwich-style bread that is fresh-from-the-oven, delicious and affordable.

The Mini Bakery – which is described as a “robotic bakery” by some – mixes, forms, proofs, bakes and cools 10 loaves of artisan bread per hour. [Read more…] about Stop & Shop installs robotic bakery ‘Breadbot’ at its Massachusetts store

AT&T working with Badger Technologies to provide 5G networking for retail robots

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AT&T and Badger Technologies are working together to accelerate retail automation using autonomous robots with 5G wireless networking capabilities.

Badger Technologies’ robots empower retailers to improve operational efficiencies and customer experiences by identifying out-of-stock, mispriced or misplaced inventory as well as store hazards.

These advanced mobile data collection systems can fill major gaps in the collection and sharing of vital in-store data and images, but also can tax a store’s existing Wi-Fi network. [Read more…] about AT&T working with Badger Technologies to provide 5G networking for retail robots

Cleveron robots go to work at Decathlon

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Retail click-and-collect company Cleveron’s lockers and parcel robots have been deployed by Decathlon in Hungary.

According to Decathlon Hungary’s Online Marketing Director Gergely Román, the total number of parcels ordered via their online store has grown by 40 per cent in one year.

Decathlon uses Cleveron 402 and two Cleveron 301’s to hand out online orders. Customers who have placed an online order come to the store, insert their order code at the parcel robot and retrieve their parcel.

[Read more…] about Cleveron robots go to work at Decathlon

Taiwanese store employs robot to make and serve tea

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A Taiwanese food and beverage store called Babo Arms is now using a collaborative robot from Universal Robots to make and serve tea.

Universal Robots’ UR5 unit was chosen by Babo Arms to “add a twist of modernity” into their production process.

Babo Arms were searching for an automated device to enhance operations and address the ongoing recruitment issue faced by the food and beverage industry. [Read more…] about Taiwanese store employs robot to make and serve tea

Schnucks grocery stores give Tally the robot some work to do checking the shelves

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A mobile robot called Tally has got a job at Schnucks grocery stores, where it will wander round the aisles and make mental notes of what products are running low on stock and checking prices. 

Developed by Simbe Robotics, Tally is said to perform the tasks humans might find boring and time-consuming. It can do this while customers are shopping or after the stores close.

Simbe claims Tally is the “world’s first fully autonomous robotic shelf auditing and analytics solution for the retail industry”, and suggests the technology could save some of the $450 billion retailers lose annually through inefficiencies which Tally can help resolve.  [Read more…] about Schnucks grocery stores give Tally the robot some work to do checking the shelves

Amazon could assimilate Whole Foods workers into robots and drones in some sort of cyber-physical dystopian Borg-like nightmare

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By Lisa Baertlein and Harriet McLeod, Reuters

The merger that shook food and retail stocks on Friday – Amazon’s proposed deal to buy Whole Foods Market – rattled some employees of the upscale grocery chain who expressed fears ranging from layoffs to the loss of their laid-back corporate culture.

The online retailer hopes the $13.7 billion acquisition helps it disrupt the grocery business and expand its real-world store footprint.

Carmen Clark, 37, a six-year employee at a store in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, said some workers worry that Amazon-led automation could lead to job cuts.  [Read more…] about Amazon could assimilate Whole Foods workers into robots and drones in some sort of cyber-physical dystopian Borg-like nightmare

Bossa Nova Robotics partners with Digimarc on retail product scanning technology

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bossa nova robotics

Bossa Nova Robotics and Digimarc are collaborating to automate planogram compliance by combining the two companies’ scanning and robotics technologies. 

A planogram is a visual representation of the layout of a store and the arrangement of its products.

Bossa Nova says its robot would help retailers make more strategic, money-saving inventory management decisions.  [Read more…] about Bossa Nova Robotics partners with Digimarc on retail product scanning technology

Third book: Robotics and Automation Industry Thought Leaders

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The third volume in our series of books, Robotics and Automation Industry Thought Leaders, is now available in the Amazon Kindle Store. 

It will also soon be available in the Apple iBooks Store as well as in this website’s store.

Support us by buying a copy of any of our books, or subscribe – as we will be offering the books as part of our subscription package.

Lowe’s store bosses hire Fellow robot workers

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LoweBot, a NAVii autonomous retail service robot by Fellow Robots

Lowe’s, the home improvement and hradware store chain, has hired a robot shop assistant it developed with Fellow Robots. The company says LoweBot will enhance the shopping experience for customers.

LoweBot was developed through a partnership between Fellow Robots and Lowe’s Innovation Labs, and the companies say it explores how intelligent help can meet the needs of customers and employees.

Lowe’s will introduce LoweBot in fall, later this year.

LoweBot is part of the Navii autonomous retail service robot series by Fellow Robots, and will be in 11 Lowe’s stores throughout the San Francisco Bay area.  [Read more…] about Lowe’s store bosses hire Fellow robot workers

Don’t forget our new ebook – Robotics and Automation Industry Thought Leaders – is out now

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robotics and automation industry thought leaders

Our new ebook, Robotics and Automation Industry Thought Leaders, is out now.

Featuring a selection of the best interviews from RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com, the epublication makes the perfect gift for your entire social network.

Now available in digital form on Apple iBooks Store, Amazon, and all good online outlets.