Stefan Mileschin

Lidar equipped robots called "Marty" from Ahold Delhaize are now being deployed in the USA to count inventory, detect spills and summon human employees over to clean up the mess. These autonomous robots are equipped with 8 cameras and are monitored by employees in foreign countries who will verify a spill before allowing the robot to alert store employees over a loudspeaker. Giant/Martin's and Stop & Shop brands are rolling them out in addition to Food Lion, and Hannaford. Walmart and Schnucks are using robots to count inventory. A robot observed Tuesday at a Stop & Shop store in Seekonk, Massachusetts, alerted store associates to a price tag that had fallen in one aisle, and a tiny sprig of herbs in another. After moving along for a few minutes, it returned to the scene of each spill and waited until an employee pushed a button to acknowledge that the debris was picked up. A union that represents Giant and Stop & Shop workers says it's keeping an eye on Marty.

http://www.hardocp.com/news/2019/01/...cery _stores/