Cleaner Floors At Walmart With The Help Of Robots

Keeping Walmart (WMT) clean may get a little easier as the retailer is adding a team of floor scrubbing robots to its stores. These Auto-C – Autonomous Cleaners will be a part of the company’s move toward automation and efficiency as it competes with Amazon for market share.

With an operating system built by Brain Corp, the automated robots will help keep that Walmart shine without the need for employees to manually keep floors spotless, a task that the company said takes associates up to two hours each day.

To help get the robots get ready for installation, Walmart associates will guide them around the store, training them on the layout. Following the demonstration, the robots are able to navigate the space on their own, all the while watching for customers or new displays that may get in their way with the use of onboard sensors.

The robots are reported to resemble a miniature Zamboni combined with a motorized wheelchair , similar to the machines used at airports in Seattle, Washington; Boston, Massachusetts; and Miami, Florida, according to Bloomberg.

This is not the first foray into automation for Walmart, as the company has integrated Alphabot and Pickup tower robots to scan shelves, move its products, and check inventory in select retail markets, according to Bloomberg. Walmart said it will launch the automated floor scrubbing robots by the end of January at some 360 store locations. Walmart said the robots are currently in 78 of its stores.

As of this afternoon, Walmart stock was up almost 1 percent.