Losses of hypermarkets due to untimely laying out of goods on shelves make up 5% of the annual turnover. Given that the average hypermarket has an annual turnover of about 84 million dollars, the loss of a network of 1000 stores is about $ 4 billion a year!
We propose the development of mobile autonomous robots, capable of eventually replacing the employees of the trading floors of hypermarkets. Moving around the trading floor, cars will perform gap checking, i.e. scan shelves of trade racks for incorrect display or lack of goods, as well as the compliance of price tags with the current price list.
According to the results of the check, using the artificial intelligence system, which is based on a multi-agent neurocognitive architecture, the robot will compile a list of missing goods, assemble it in a warehouse, deliver it to the trading floor and independently arrange goods on shelves.
The artificial intelligence system provides intelligent and safe robot behavior. Anthropomimetic manipulator with cable drives, comparable to a person’s hand in terms of torque characteristics, will allow you to safely place the goods without deforming it.
One robot is able to replace 4 people. The use of a robotic complex does not require any changes in the existing infrastructure of the hypermarket.
The selling price of the robot is $ 40 thousand, operating costs are up to $ 1.5 thousand per year. The payback period is 1.5 years.
Robotization can eliminate up to 90% of losses from untimely display of goods – $ 3.8 billion per year.
The staff costs in the trading floor of a network of 1000 hypermarkets are $ 513 million per year. One robot can efficiently serve the floor space of about 260-270 sq.m.
For 1.5 years of operation, robots will fully pay for themselves. And in subsequent years, robotics will bring one hypermarket chain up to $ 3.1 billion in net savings.
The final product of our project will be a robot, the functionality of which will ensure not only the timely display of goods on the shelves of the hypermarket, but also capable of:
– maintaining a dialogue with buyer;
– answering questions about the properties of the goods and the conditions of sale;
– accompanying the buyer to the goods, if necessary;
– taking orders and adjusting them with the help of online service and mobile application
– collecting a “basket” of goods.