Telexistence Inc. and FamilyMart Co. are deploying a fleet of AI-driven robot arms to refill shelves in 300 convenience stores around Japan.
AI-driven Robot Arms
According to a statement released Wednesday by Tokyo-based Telexistence, the robot arms are currently in mass production and are intended to replace drinks in freezers. Later this month, they’ll be deployed in FamilyMart shops throughout significant urban regions, relieving store employees and helping to fill the gap left by a declining labor force in the nation.
The machines, known as TX SCARA, or Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm, are largely autonomous, with remote piloting as a backup in case the artificial intelligence malfunctions or runs into objects that aren’t supposed to be there. According to Telexistence, each unit may replace one to three daily labor hours per store.
The general manager at FamilyMart, Tomohiro Kano, said the decline in Japan’s labor population is one of the critical management issues for FamilyMart to continue stable store operations. He added that the newly created time could be reallocated to customer service and shop floor enhancement.
FamilyMart will pay Telexistence a monthly charge for the use of the robot arms, its upkeep, and the support of remote personnel who can operate the arm when necessary via a virtual reality headset. 98% of the time, the bots can do their tasks without help from a human, according to Telexistence.
Telexistence worked with Microsoft Corp. and Nvidia Corp., two of the biggest names in US technology, on the design and technology of the bots. The SCARA arms optimize restocking processes by processing information on Nvidia’s Jetson AI platform and storing and referencing sales data on Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure.
FamilyMart now operates 16,000 conbini—convenience stores—across its home market, but Telexistence and Microsoft claim they intend to spread the technology over the entire world. The next objective for Telexistence’s international expansion will be the more than 150,000 convenience outlets in the US.
Featured Image: Megapixl @Photomall
