How AI robots disrupt retail
ERIS is a computer vision-powered robot that scans retail store shelves and price tags in order to detect out-of-stock items and identify errors and inconsistencies in product prices. It provides data extraction and on-the-go analytics and sends instant error alerts to store operators and managers.
02 Feb, 2022. 3 min read
ERIS – ultimate retail robot
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www.rinf.techThe retail Robotics Market size was valued at $7.60 billion in 2020 and is projected to exceed $69 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 31.61% between 2021 and 2028.
In retail, robotic use cases typically spread across inventory, delivery, and in-store management. In 2020, inventory management accounted for the largest market share of 33.16%, with a market value of $2,5 million. It's projected to grow at the highest CAGR of 37.06% between 2021 and 2028.
Powered with AI technologies such as computer vision or ML, retail robots promise to free store employees from routine tasks and foster informed decision-making, providing a new opportunity to significantly improve customer experience and increase revenues. This is achieved due to robots' ability to collect more granular data about products on shelves, identify purchasing behavior patterns, etc.
What's a retail robot?
Retail robots are artificial intelligence (AI) powered systems that collect exponentially accurate data about shopper habits and preferences. This information allows retailers to increase sales by recommending similar or relevant products to customers, improving their checkout experience, better managing stock, and inventory, fostering better interaction between customers and brands, etc. These factors contribute a great deal to retail business growth and digital transformation.
With a rapidly increasing consumer demand, the retail industry is adopting robotic automation in leaps and bounds.
Benefits of using retail robots
Retail robotic solutions help retail companies:
- Better understand and execute inventory and supply planning.
- Reduce the number of resources required for physical locations management and track delivery.
- Implement predictive analytics for individual customer requests.
- Personalize customer support.
- Introduce cashier-less cash transactions.
- Create new product categories
- Better manage warehouses, etc.
Meet ERIS – intelligent scanner solution for retail
Designed and developed by rinf.tech's Adapta Robotics team, ERIS is an AI and computer vision powered robot aiming to help solve retail store pricing discrepancy issues and eliminate customer dissatisfaction brought about by empty shelves and price tag errors. ERIS is used to scan retail store shelves and price tags in order to detect out-of-stock items and identify errors and inconsistencies in product prices. It provides data extraction and on-the-go analytics and sends instant error alerts to store operators and managers.
It seamlessly integrates with the store’s structure and retrieves correct data by comparing the live status of the barcodes with the store’s database. Each scanning session is supported by vision modules, consisting of high-resolution cameras and depth sensors. Equipped with autofocus lenses that prevent errors caused by shelf distance deviations, ERIS gathers and analyzes relevant information (shelf prices on both paperback and electronic labels, barcode location, OSA estimation) onsite.
Passing each high-quality image through AI algorithms, ERIS identifies price tag inconsistencies, determines on-shelf availability, and issues out-of-stock warnings. This allows its human operator to acknowledge and rectify problems in an instant, printing and replacing incorrect labels on the spot or restocking the shelves immediately.
ERIS features
- ERIS is equipped with 16 high-precision cameras
- Integrated display for operations and reports generation
- In-built LTE connectivity, WiFi-independent
- Adaptive lighting system
- 2 price label printers
- Supports shelf height of 2 m
- 3-hour charging time
- Seamless integration with a retail store infrastructure
- Custom AI neural networks
- High-performance vision modules, etc.
To learn more about ERIS, please check out Adapta Robotics.