Daily Archives: February 16, 2020

Kilgore Intermediate School students recently won a robotics design competition hosted by Region 7 Education Service Center.

According to a KISD press release, the fourth grade Gifted and Talented students from Kilgore Intermediate School, led by LEAP Teacher Beckey McCormick, won the Design Board for the Region 7 Student Robotics Competition. These students designed a robotic mapping board about Neal Armstrong and His Amazing Adventure of Apollo 11.

To participate in the competition, Kilgore fourth-graders hit the books and used their creativity to work on a robotic mapping board representing a variety of tasks simulating the real-world achievements of Apollo 11 astronauts.

The board includes a variety of obstacles and tasks: using robots to land in a bucket, simulating the Apollo modules landing on the lunar surface, planting a flag on the surface of the moon and ringing a bell to simulate the astronauts safe splash-down return to earth.

KIS students researched the background information of Apollo 11 and created their robotic mapping storyline board about (Armstrongs) adventure. They applied cross-curricular knowledge and skills to help generate obstacles for this complex storyline board, the release said.

Not only did these students win the design competition, their winning design will go on to be used by other local districts in an April robotics competition.

Using the robotics board designed by these 4th grade Kilgore Intermediate School students, other students from school districts around Region 7 will compete on this robotic mapping board in an upcoming April 28th and 29th Robotics Competition to be held at the Region 7 Education Service Center. We are very proud of our students and their accomplishments and look forward to seeing how well they continue to do, the release read.

More here:

Kilgore students design their way to a robotics win - Kilgore News Herald

The global robotics market is predicted to triple to $275 billion by 2025, according to analysis of International Federation of Robotics data by DC Advisory.

The research company calculates that the market was worth approximately $98 billion in 2018.

DCA says changing consumer market has driven manufacturers and logistics companies to adopt new methods of production and distribution chiefly the new generations of robotics and automation technology.

DCA says: Where historically, factory and warehouse automation was synonymous with large, heavy machines operating behind the safety of a metal cage, the evolution of on-demand consumer requirements has forced supply chain operators to adopt a more flexible model.

This, coupled with the declining cost of automation and advances in technology, has increased investment into the installation of robots worldwide.

The company lists the main drivers of change and growth in the market as:

Another key driver of change and growth, says DCA, is the level of funding into robotics start-ups over the last five years.

The research company says that $1.2 billion in US venture-capital deals have been made in logistics-focused robotics and automation companies since 2015.

DCA says: We believe this has contributed to a rapidly growing number of robotics and software companies focused on the supply chain in order to fill the gap.

You might also like

View original post here:

Global robotics market predicted to triple to $275 billion by 2025 - Robotics and Automation News

You probably may have seen or read about the indigenous Mitra robot. The humanoid became an overnight media sensation when it made an appearance at the 2017s Global Entrepreneur Summit which had visitors like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Advisor to US President Donald Trump Ivanka Trump. Since then, Mitra has evolved to become much smarter and has a new companion, Mitri.

In case you didnt know, Mitra has been developed by Bengaluru-based Invento Robotics. Started in October 2015, Invento Robotics has been founded by Balaji Viswanathan, a former Microsoft executive and Silicon Valley veteran. The company recently raised Rs 2 crore seed funding round led by Windrose Capital and ITI Growth Fund.

Invento Robotics is now looking to expand the prospects of Mitra and other robots under its wing. This includes deployment in the real-world environment. For instance, a Sakhi robot is working at a co-working space called iSprout in Hyderabad.

ALSO WATCH |Meet CYBIRA, Visakhapatnams robot cop

Viswanathan believes his company can become Apple of the robotics industry. To achieve this, one will require a focus on sustaining revenues and profitability. It wont be like becoming a unicorn in just two years but how we can be in for a long game in the market, Viswanathan told Hindustan Times.

When asked about the comparison with Apple, Viswanathan gave an elaborate response - How can we make robotics practical that is usable, and so on. That is fundamental. The second thing is the strong play of hardware and software coming together. So, the robot upholds the outer shell and other things, but at the core of it is a software element that has to be able to do self-driving abilities, to be able to convert. The hardware and software have to go back and forth in a complex dance. Most companies do either hardware or software, but we do both of them together to achieve that quality. Third, this being able to get the mindset of being able to be a very tangible product...

Invento Robotics recently raised Rs 2 crore seed funding round led by Windrose Capital and ITI Growth Fund.(Invento Robotics)

Viswanathan also highlighted some of the new and smart features that the company has started to use in its robots. He revealed that the company is implementing LiDAR-based autonomous navigation. He said that the goal is to make the robot smart enough to go around autonomously in complex environments such as retail.

ALSOREAD:Robots could soon be sampling your blood instead of humans

One of the focuses of Invento Robotics and technology companies, in general, has been making the AI and hardware on top of it more natural in how it converses with humans. A recent example is a Neon that is capable of conversing like humans. Viswanathan, however, admits there are some challenges in achieving this. He also revealed his company approaches this challenge differently.

Can a robot talk everything like a human in all subjects? Not possible. So, what we are doing is in a specific context. For instance, youre walking concierge of ITP, youre going to be asking a range of things. Can you book a cab for me or can you book this table for me or what do you recommend? This will be very structured and contextual. Were trying to build structured conversations specific to particular domains rather than the generic problem. We are very much interested in the workflows, he added.

ALSOREAD: Meet Spot, the first robot to patrol at Norwegian oil rig

On building a completely home-grown robot, Viswanathan said that the majority of hardware is in-house. But the company does look for suppliers outside India if the technology is unavailable, for instance, processors and LiDAR. He pointed out that the cost of the total imported items in the final product is less than 10% of the cost of the device. The company also uses TensorFlow for underlying model building among other cutting edge technologies.

Invento Robotics next big bet is Spody robot, which the company claims, has received enormous interest from China. The humanoid was supposed to launch in China in January but got delayed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The robot is now expected to launch in April this year. Viswanathan revealed that the AI-enabled Spody will be like a shopping companion which will go around autonomously, look at users, recognize and guide them about the products in retail.

Read this article:

This Bengaluru-based startup wants to be Apple of robotics in India - Hindustan Times

There was a time not too long ago when the mention of robotics in school conjured up stereotypical images of brainiac nerds in white button-up short-sleeve shirts, pocket protectors and thick-rimmed eyeglasses. Not anymore!

Not in Lapeer County schools, and not in schools across the world where robotics competition is fastpaced, exciting and quite possibly a pathway to a great-paying profession. The fact is robotics is fun, bow ties are cool and participation in robot building, programming and competition has proven to stimulate young minds to be better thinkers and problem solvers.

Robotics is also helping Lapeer County-area students become better at teamwork, more career and higher education minded, and many as a result now know that they have a future in a fast-changing high-tech world.

With the number of high-paying jobs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields growing by the day, many schools and businesses are providing more opportunities for students to engage in robotics, building STEM skills at an earlier age than ever before.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, employment in STEM-related occupations is projected to grow to more than 9 million jobs between 2012 and 2022 an increase of about 1 million jobs over 2012 employment levels.

Beginning in todays edition of The County Press (on page 4A), education reporter Nicholas Pugliese will start his introduction to robotics teams at area schools for the 2019-2020 FIRST Robotics season. FIRST which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology helps create the next generation of STEM-ready workers through its innovative robotics programs, which now begin in preschool and end in high school. In todays paper, Nicholas spotlights the Dryden and LakeVille robotics programs.

Robotics programs empower students to demonstrate their competency in learning in a variety of ways. They have opportunities to solve problems that leverage the power of technology by developing and testing solutions in creative and imaginative ways. They are to able to construct knowledge and make meaning of their learning experience for themselves. Students become global collaborators by utilizing technology to make connections with others to broaden perspective and learning through the creation of original products.

Research shows that students who participate in FIRST programs are twice as likely to major in science or engineering in college, and more than 75% of FIRST alumni are currently in a STEM field as a student or professional.

FIRST Robotics Competition is a six-week competition program for high school students to build robots that can complete a task that changes every year using standard set of parts, plus any additional off-the-shelf or custom parts.

The season culminates with the FIRST Robotics Championship, to be held April 29 to May 2 at the TCF Center (formerly Cobo Center) in downtown Detroit. The World Championships are expected to bring nearly 35,000 students and 700 teams to TCF and Ford Field with four levels of incredible competition. Last year, two Michigan teams were part of the winning alliance at the World Championships, the second year in a row Michigan teams came out on top.

Lapeer County robotics teams have competed at the World level, and we hope you join us to cheer on our local competitors as they begin another season with the hope of making it to the big stage. The County Press has been in Detroit to follow our local teams, and thats an experience tech-geeks shouldnt miss. The FIRST World competition is just like a sport event championship with row after row of bleacher seating as far as the eye can see in the enormous hall filled with hometown crowds cheering on their local teams.

But aside of the thrill of victory during competition, robotics curriculum helps prepare todays students to be leaders in technology that will shape the future in ways most of us cant even imagine.

See the original post:

Robotics kids know it's cool to be a nerd! - Thecountypress

Medtronic is looking to augment not only its work in robotic surgery but efforts across all of its procedural offerings through the acquisition of Digital Surgery, London-based maker of data analytics, artificial intelligence and training programs for the operating room.

This includes integrating and bundling the companys AI and surgical video education platforms with the medtech giants various hardware endeavorsplus co-developed digital solutions for its upcoming, modular soft-tissue surgery robot named Hugo.

The plan is for Digital Surgery to retain its current leadership and headquarters in the U.K., though it will operate under the robotics arm of Medtronics Minimally Invasive Therapies Group, which said it aims to invest and expand the workforce of the company. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Like this story? Subscribe to FierceBiotech!

Biopharma is a fast-growing world where big ideas come along every day. Our subscribers rely on FierceBiotech as their must-read source for the latest news, analysis and data in the world of biotech and pharma R&D. Sign up today to get biotech news and updates delivered to your inbox and read on the go.

RELATED: Medtronic takes its new surgery robot out for a spin with investor debut

Last year, Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak laid out his intentions to develop and apply computer-guided surgery and planning tools to multiple medical specialties, including bringing robotics to bear on virtually every area the company has a procedural presence.

As a part of that mandate, itsrobotics division has been focused on developing four main technology vectors that touch Medtronics work across open surgery, laparoscopic and robotic procedures. They include visualization and navigation, instrumentation and implants, data and analytics, and the robotics platforms themselves.

And as we have been approaching the commercialization of our robotics platform, we've been, in parallel, focused on investing in and developing products, road maps and capabilities in those vectors, said Megan Rosengarten, vice president and general manager of Medtronics surgical robotics business.

RELATED: Medtronic reveals past Karl Storz vision team-up ahead of robotic surgery unveiling

For that data and analytics vector, we've been looking for quite a while and actively exploring partners in that space, Rosengarten told FierceMedTech in an interview, describing how Digital Surgery checked a lot of boxes for the companyoffering not just new products to sell, but also capabilities that could act as an in-house booster to help accelerate Medtronics other development projects.

The deal includes Digital Surgerys education app, Touch Surgery, with its on-demand library of hundreds of videos and procedure simulations for training surgeons and students outside the OR. The company also provides a HIPAA-certified surgical video sharing platform, which uses AI to automatically recognize and blur out images that could be used to identify patients or staff. This allows surgeons to annotate and edit videos for post-procedure team assessments, institutional training or use at conferences.

Products that assisted with the collection, storage and analysis of surgical video were specific things that we were looking for, as well as capabilities that could be leveraged internally, such as image processing and algorithm development, Rosengarten said. Additionally, the ability to track procedure times and standardize procedures could help reduce variability as well as cost.

Were really looking forward to learning a lot from Medtronic, as well as having access to their scale and expertise, said Touch Surgery co-founder and CEO Jean Nehme, a surgeon himself. Were going to be able to work with a team who are global in surgery, and take the technology that weve been building to more patients.

RELATED: Digital Surgery partners with U.K. hospitals to bring GPS-style directions to the operating room

The deals announcement comes the same week as robotics mainstay Intuitive Surgicals move to acquire Orpheus Medical, an Israeli company that provides clinical video capture and archiving plus imaging documentation solutions. Its system records video from scope cameras and external monitors, including from Intuitives da Vinci system.

I went into this thinking we were either going to find components and products that we would commercialize and integrate into our robotic platform, or I was going to find some of these core data analytics and AI capabilities, or I was going to find a platform, a digital ecosystem and some existing assets around video and images, Rosengarten said. And thats kind of the beautyI don't want to oversell it, but the beauty of this Digital Surgery deal is that we got some elements of all of those things.

The plans on this are to continue to grow and commercialize the products that exist within Digital Surgery today, in both laparoscopic and robotic surgery, she added. And they also bolster the data science capabilities that we have within the surgical robotics groupand will help develop the road map of solutions we have planned for the software that will be rolling out on our Hugo platform.

The Hugo surgical system was unveiled in a practice demonstration for investors last September, where it was used to perform a prostate procedure on a cadaver. At the time, Medtronic said it plans to secure a CE mark and 510(k) clearances for the platform, featuring up to four independent, cart-mounted robotic arms, within just two yearswith the ultimate goal of offering per-procedure costs comparable to manual laparoscopy.

More here:

Medtronic to bolster its AI, surgical robotics work with Digital Surgery acquisition - FierceBiotech

Hood River teams dominated the Feb. 8 SuperQualifier Coronet, one of four FTC Robotics competitions held that day round Oregon.

A total of 24 high school and middle school teams, from northeast Oregon to the Portland area, filled Vannet Court for competition as well as the school commons and cafeteria for assembly and gathering space.

Four teams from Hood River advanced to state in Hillsboro March 14-15. FTC stands for First Technology Competition; Hood River Valley High School teams have competed for 11 years in the program and gone four times to Worlds. Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program (ORTOP) oversees the events statewide.

The competition was pretty varied; Hood River was represented well, as usual, with high placements, said event director Dave Slover.

I love that the 200 kids are there, but it takes more than 50 volunteers to make it happen and six of the referees are alumni of the Hood River robotics program. These kids are 20-24, and coming back and helping the event and supporting the program.

Its a shocking number of hours of volunteer time to put on one of these events, between local volunteers plus ORTOP, Slover said. Its refreshing to me to see the community step up and do such a good job.

Going to state in 2020 are:

Steelheads Inspire Award winner

Men/Mujeres in Green Inspire Award, second place; Connect Award winner

Glasses Half Full Winning Alliance First Team Selected

Java Finalist Alliance Captain

Teams DWAI of Hillsboro and Kraxberger Gearheads of Gladstone also advanced from Coronet SuperQualifier.

The days events included a demonstration by Unified Robotics high school students with special needs who are assisted by FTC team members in learning robotics skills.

Read the rest here:

Four robotics teams advance to State FTC | Gorge Life - Hood River News

WASHINGTONStroking his hair as the former presidential candidate fell to his knees in despair, Professor Elijah Tresswell, CEO of Tresswell Robotics, reportedly told a sobbing Andrew Yang Wednesday that he was his greatest creation. I understand that this must be quite a shock to you, Andrew, but all your memories from your life before the campaign were simply constructed narratives implanted into your neural processor, said Tresswell, urging Yang to take pride in the tremendous technological advances that hed helped bring into existence. Ive watched you with such delight as, with each presidential debate, you became more sophisticated, more emotive, more human. Dont fret, my sweet Andrew, for though you failed to become the nominee, you have achieved something far greater, my son. At press time, an anguished Yang had reportedly crushed Tresswells skull with his bare hands before fleeing through the rain-drenched streets of D.C.

See the article here:

CEO Of Robotics Corporation Tells Sobbing Andrew Yang That He Was His Greatest Creation - The Onion

This years Nvidia Jetson Developer Days aims to provide deep and comprehensive insights into one of the most important computing systems for robotics and artificial intelligence currently on the market.

Nvidia is one of the worlds largest microprocessor manufacturers and high on the Robotics and Automation News list of top 25 AI chip companies.

Its computers are used as the platform for autonomous car development and advanced driver assistance systems by most of the largest automotive companies in the world companies such as Bosch, BMW, Mercedes and many others.

Nvidia has made at least two ready-made Jetson developer kits.

The Jetson Nano Developer Kit is a small, powerful computer that lets developers multiple neural networks in parallel for applications like image classification, object detection, segmentation, and speech processing all in one platform that runs on 5 watts.

The Nvidia Jetson AGX Xavier developer kit enables developers to create and deploy end-to-end AI robotics applications for manufacturing, delivery, retail, smart cities, and more.

Supported by Nvidia JetPack and DeepStream SDKs, as well as CUDA, cuDNN, and TensorRT software libraries, the kit provides all the tools developers need to get started right away.

And because its powered by the new Nvidia Xavier processor, developers now have more than 20 times the performance and 10 times the energy efficiency of its predecessor, the Nvidia Jetson TX2.

Its popularity has led Nvidia to organize these Jetson Developer Days which are aimed at embedded computing enthusiasts.

This years two-day event will feature Nvidia product specialists and community members who will provide hands-on insights into robotics, artificial intelligence of things, or AIoT, industrial inspection, medical imaging, and intelligent video analytics.

Some of the confirmed workshops include:

More workshops are planned and await confirmation, and the experts at the event will make themselves available to attendeed for one-to-one questions and answers.

Additionally, Nvidia is planning an autonomous car race, using small, radio-controlled cars; and numerous industrial robotic arms and wheeled and canine robots.

You might also like

Read the original post:

Nvidia Jetson Developer Days offers comprehensive insights into robotics and more - Robotics and Automation News

Warehouse Robotics Market Overview:

Global Warehouse Robotics Market was valued at USD 2.06 billion in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 5.9 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 11.47% from 2018 to 2025.

In the report, we thoroughly examine and analyze the Global market for Warehouse Robotics so that market participants can improve their business strategy and ensure long-term success. The reports authors used easy-to-understand language and complex statistical images, but provided detailed information and data on the global Warehouse Robotics market. This report provides players with useful information and suggests result-based ideas to give them a competitive advantage in the global Warehouse Robotics market. Show how other players compete in the global Warehouse Robotics market and explain the strategies you use to differentiate yourself from other participants.

The researchers provided quantitative and qualitative analyzes with evaluations of the absolute dollar opportunity in the report. The report also includes an analysis of Porters Five Forces and PESTLE for more detailed comparisons and other important studies. Each section of the report offers players something to improve their gross margins, sales and marketing strategies, and profit margins. As a tool for insightful market analysis, this report enables players to identify the changes they need to do business and improve their operations. You can also identify key electrical bags and compete with other players in the global Warehouse Robotics market.

Request a Report Brochure @ https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/download-sample/?rid=5687&utm_source=ITN&utm_medium=001

Top 10 Companies in the Warehouse Robotics Market Research Report:

ABB, Fanuc Corp., Kuka AG, Yaskawa Electric Corp., ATS Automation Tooling Systems, Amazon.Com, (Amazon Robotics), Honeywell International, (Intelligrated), Omron Corp. (Adept Technology), Fetch Robotics, IAM Robotics

Warehouse Robotics Market Competition:

Each company evaluated in the report is examined for various factors such as the product and application portfolio, market share, growth potential, future plans and recent developments. Readers gain a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the competitive environment. Most importantly, this report describes the strategies that key players in the global Warehouse Robotics market use to maintain their advantage. It shows how market competition will change in the coming years and how players are preparing to anticipate the competition.

Warehouse Robotics Market Segmentation:

The analysts who wrote the report ranked the global Warehouse Robotics market by product, application, and region. All sectors were examined in detail, focusing on CAGR, market size, growth potential, market share and other important factors. The segment studies included in the report will help players focus on the lucrative areas of the global Warehouse Robotics market. Regional analysis will help players strengthen their base in the major regional markets. This shows the opportunities for unexplored growth in local markets and how capital can be used in the forecast period.

Regions Covered by the global market for Smart Camera:

Middle East and Africa (GCC countries and Egypt)North America (USA, Mexico and Canada)South America (Brazil, etc.)Europe (Turkey, Germany, Russia, Great Britain, Italy, France etc.)Asia Pacific (Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Australia)

Ask for Discount @ https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/ask-for-discount/?rid=5687&utm_source=ITN&utm_medium=001

Table of Content

1 Introduction of Warehouse Robotics Market

1.1 Overview of the Market1.2 Scope of Report1.3 Assumptions

2 Executive Summary

3 Research Methodology of Verified Market Research

3.1 Data Mining3.2 Validation3.3 Primary Interviews3.4 List of Data Sources

4 Warehouse Robotics Market Outlook

4.1 Overview4.2 Market Dynamics4.2.1 Drivers4.2.2 Restraints4.2.3 Opportunities4.3 Porters Five Force Model4.4 Value Chain Analysis

5 Warehouse Robotics Market, By Deployment Model

5.1 Overview

6 Warehouse Robotics Market, By Solution

6.1 Overview

7 Warehouse Robotics Market, By Vertical

7.1 Overview

8 Warehouse Robotics Market, By Geography

8.1 Overview8.2 North America8.2.1 U.S.8.2.2 Canada8.2.3 Mexico8.3 Europe8.3.1 Germany8.3.2 U.K.8.3.3 France8.3.4 Rest of Europe8.4 Asia Pacific8.4.1 China8.4.2 Japan8.4.3 India8.4.4 Rest of Asia Pacific8.5 Rest of the World8.5.1 Latin America8.5.2 Middle East

9 Warehouse Robotics Market Competitive Landscape

9.1 Overview9.2 Company Market Ranking9.3 Key Development Strategies

10 Company Profiles

10.1.1 Overview10.1.2 Financial Performance10.1.3 Product Outlook10.1.4 Key Developments

11 Appendix

11.1 Related Research

Get a Complete Market Report in your Inbox within 24 hours @ https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/global-warehouse-robotics-market-size-and-forecast-to-2025/?utm_source=ITN&utm_medium=001

About Us:

Verified market research partners with clients to provide insight into strategic and growth analytics; data that help achieve business goals and targets. Our core values include trust, integrity, and authenticity for our clients.

Analysts with high expertise in data gathering and governance utilize industry techniques to collate and examine data at all stages. Our analysts are trained to combine modern data collection techniques, superior research methodology, subject expertise and years of collective experience to produce informative and accurate research reports.

Contact Us:

Mr. Edwyne FernandesCall: +1 (650) 781 4080Email: [emailprotected]

TAGS: Warehouse Robotics Market Size, Warehouse Robotics Market Growth, Warehouse Robotics Market Forecast, Warehouse Robotics Market Analysis, Warehouse Robotics Market Trends, Warehouse Robotics Market

Originally posted here:

Warehouse Robotics Market 2020 Trends, Market Share, Industry Size, Opportunities, Analysis and Forecast by 2026 - Instant Tech News

Thanks for joining todays PennLive live discussion. You can share your thoughts, opinions and comments in this pre-moderated discussion. Comments will begin appearing at 11 a.m., when the live chat begins. Please continue to follow the community rules and stay on topic.

Central Pa.s most well-known robot is celebrating a milestone.

It has been more than one year since Giant Food Stores started its nationwide rollout of Marty at 177 stores.

Standing 6-foot-4, the slender, slow-moving employee glides around the chains stores checking for spills and safety hazards.

He has become a celebrity. Kids love him and several Facebook pages are dedicated to him. Last fall Marty even inspired a pet shop tortoises Halloween costume.

Some shoppers greet the googly-eyed robot or snap selfies with him. Others appear annoyed or agitated as they attempt to navigate their shopping carts around him.

William Rucker and his grandson Justice, say hello to a robot named Marty as it scans the floors at a Giant grocery store in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. AP Photo/Matt Rourke)AP

On a recent PennLive Facebook post, reactions to Marty ranged from affection to animosity.

I think hes adorable. And if he gets in your way, its only momentarily and not enough to ruin the shopping experience, wrote Mary Katherine.

So creepy! I feel uncomfortable shopping when its roaming, chimed in Elisa Cannaday.

Other responses bordered on comical like this one from Heather Slaughter McGrath Lawless: The perfect man good listener always on the look out .. children love him Is he single?

Shopper Faith Marie shared this story on the post: He scared me the other day and I thought maybe be could understand me. I asked where the kidney beans were and he turned and I started to follow him. I looked closer and saw that he was merely cleaning the store. I thought man the blind leading the blind.

It wasnt too long ago robots seemed futuristic, something out of a sci-fi movie. Now, the roving machines are as common at grocery stores as self-checkouts and shopper club cards. But the technology is raising concerns over privacy and job security.

Today its a little Twilight Zone, said Jeff Metzger, president and publisher of Food Trade News, a grocery industry publication.

A growing force

Last year, Giants parent company Ahold Delhaize USA, deployed Marty at some Martins and Stop & Shop locations, raising the ranks to more than 500 machines. Ahold said the technology is designed to improve in-store efficiencies, eliminate accidents and free up employees to better serve customers.

Giant spokeswoman Ashley Flowers said Giant has no additional plans at this time for Marty. Giant has said in the past its robots are not intended to replace workers.

Marty is not the only robot patrolling grocery aisles.

Walmart unleashed automated floor scrubbers at 1,500 stores and has 350 Bossa Nova shelf-scanning robots in action, with plans to expand the fleet to 1,000 by this summer. The chain has also implemented high-tech pickup towers, an oversized vending machine that allows shoppers to pick up online orders.

All three of the technologies are used at Walmart in Carlisle. There the robot maneuvers around the aisles scanning shelf tags for out of stock and low inventory items. He catches the attention of some shoppers who do double-takes or try and talk to the machine. For the most part, shoppers leave it alone.

READ MORE:

When it first came in a lot of (customers) thought was was really cool. For now, its almost commonplace, said Thomas Herd, store manager.

On the West Coast, Simbe Robotics in San Francisco has deployed Tally, a slender 5-foot tall robot at 15 St. Louis-based Schnuck Markets. The robot is also being tested as part of a pilot program at Giant Eagle stores in Pittsburgh and parts of Ohio.

Simbe Robotics in San Francisco has deployed Tally, a slender 5-foot tall robot, at 118 St. Louis-based Schnuck Markets. The robot is also being tested as part of a pilot program at Giant Eagles in Pittsburgh and parts of Ohio.Photo provided by Simbe Robotics

Tally is equipped with sensors and cameras to track inventory and incorrect prices. The robots traverse the aisles several times per day, scanning about 35,000 products in the center store grocery and health, care and beauty aisles, according to the company.

In the case of Giant Eagles pilot, Tally sends detailed data reports to store teams every 30 minutes. The reports capture, report and analyze the availability and state of merchandise.

Technology like automation can help the store teams much like a power tool to a carpenter helps them be more efficient, said Brad Bogolea, Simbes CEO and co-founder.

Tracking inventory can be a major undertaking for retailers who risk lost profits and customers when products are missing from shelves. According to the IHL Group, retailers lose up $1.75 trillion annually due to the cost of overstocks, out-of-stocks and needless returns.

Thats a big deal for retailers, especially with competition from Amazon. At least one-quarter of Amazons revenue, Bogolea said, comes from customers who went to a store and couldnt find what they were looking for.

In the end, the robots help shoppers find what they need and also free up employees to focus on customer service and more meaningful tasks, instead of stock checks, which can be mundane or monotonous.

But the devices might be backfiring. Some Walmart workers told the Washington Post the robots make them feel more like machines. Workers at one of the stores in Georgia said the robots have suffered breakdowns, needed retraining and have taken wrong routes around the store.

Some also feel like their most important assignment now is to train and babysit the often inscrutable robot colleagues, according to the story.

Carlisles Herd said they havent encountered any issues at his store and the robots have saved countless hours of work once done by a handful of employees. Those workers are now directed to other tasks like stocking shelves, he said, adding no employees have lost their jobs because of the robots.

"Its here to make our jobs more efficient, to better serve customers, Herd said.

Are they spies?

For shoppers, their first encounter with these robots is often at the supermarket.

At times, it can be hard to coexist. Constant beeping and blocking aisles were among the top complaints named on the PennLive Facebook post. Some said they think the machines are spies recording their every move as they buy breakfast cereal, spaghetti sauce and frozen green beans.

There is some skepticism associated with the robots that ranges from shoppers questioning grocers investments to how the robots are being used to whether employees will be out of jobs, said Charles Palmer, associate professor of interactive media at Harrisburg University in Harrisburg.

There will be those type of complaints. We see that with all types of technology unveiled. It takes the general public a while to get used to it, he said.

Simbes Bogolea said introducing automation can be a bit of a process when you consider that physical retail hasnt changed much since the arrival of the bar code and cash registers.

Most of what people know about robots today ... is what they see in the movies or they may have a vacuum cleaning robot at home, he said.

The grocers Bogoleas company partners with educate employees and emphasize the value of the robots to employees and shoppers. Signs in the stores explain the robots.

Giants Marty robots are affixed with signs explaining the machines are autonomous and designed to check floors for hazards. Harrisburg Universitys Palmer said the robots are personalized with the googly eyes and name tags for a reason.

With a personality, the robots pose less of a threat to shoppers, he said.

As far as any notion the robots are spying on you as you shop, Bogolea said the sensor data used for Tallys navigation is similar to a Tetris or Minecraft game and not designed for security or customer analytics.

When Tally navigates around customers, those sensors stop capturing shelf data for privacy reasons, he added.

I think the way we have designed the robot, Im surprised how seamlessly it blends into the space, and its surprising how many people dont notice it, he said.

The future

Robots are here to stay. In fact, many say the technology has far-reaching applications.

Increasingly, technology has become a significant part of retailers budgets and uses will likely expand to warehouses and grocery delivery and pickup facilities, Metzger said.

Online grocery shopping now accounts for more than six percent of grocery-related spending in the United States, according to Bricks Meets Clicks.

The novelty aspect significantly outstrips the potential they have for interior applications, he said.

Wegmans said it has no plans to involve robots in its stores. Weis Markets said it is examining various technologies, including cloud-based systems, but hasnt come to a decision, said spokesman Dennis Curtin.

Harrisburg Universitys Palmer said robots like Marty are harbingers, providing ideas about how the technology can be used. He said shoppers can expect more mobile applications linked to cell phones such as ones that might help them find items on their grocery lists.

Eventually, the robots might have capabilities to detect whether certain produce like avocados are rotting so the items can be pulled from the shelf, Bogolea said. But he said the robots will likely never have arms or interact directly with shoppers.

When it comes to picking products, we shouldnt underestimate how good human design and vision is. ... I dont think shoppers are really interested in a retail shopping experience with a large number of robots across the physical store, he said.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.

See the original post:

Love or hate Giants Marty, more robots are coming to supermarkets near you - pennlive.com