Walmart Is Using Robots To Scan For Empty Shelves, Misplaced Items

Soon you’ll see something new roaming the aisles at Walmart. The company is introducing shelf-scanning robots to its stores to help keep shelves stocked and full at all times. The robots will be operating in 50 stores across the United States, according to Reuters.

The robots are vaguely square and have a tower sticking out of one side of the top of them. This part of the bot is fitted with camera to help the robot maneuver aisles and to scan the shelves for any missing items or empty spots where and item needs to be restocked, Reuters reported.

In addition to scanning shelves for missing items, the bots can also identify spots where a price is displayed incorrectly, an item is misplaced or where items are mislabeled. This is the type of work that takes humans employees more time to do and that they can have a difficult time picking up on the details. Instead the robot collects the data and then gives it to the human employees who then correct any mistakes or restock where needed, Reuters reported.

The company told Reuters that this addition of robots will not mean any human employees are let go, it’ll just make their jobs easier and the store more efficient. Chief Technology Officer for Walmart U.S. and e-commerce, Jeremy King, told Reuters that the robots are 50 percent more productive than humans at shelf-scanning. This is part of an effort to make the stores more efficient and a better experience for customers.

Robots have been entering spaces that have generally been reserved for human beings for a few years now. One of the most famous bots is the Knightscope security robot that tossed itself into a fountain at a Georgetown office and retail office complex in July. The robot typically roams around the complex keeping watch for anything suspicious. It’s also equipped with cameras but it’s cameras offer a 360 degree view to monitor its surroundings. It’s also equipped with forensic capabilities and autonomous presence.

That accident was caused by a misjudgment by the bot and following the incident the company that created it said it would look into the “wheel slip and cliff detection capabilities as well as adding a new wheel skid detection capability,” of the bot.

Other retail companies like Amazon, Best Buy, Lowe’s all use some sort of robot in warehouses or in the store to make the processes go more quickly or more efficiently. While they can be helpful, some tech moguls, like Elon Musk, warn that artificial intelligence and robots could one day end up taking over most human jobs, making people obsolete in the working world.