American retail giant Walmart is trialling shelf-scanning robots.
The 2ft tall (0.61m) robots are fitted with smart cameras which scan aisles as they roam and can identify misplaced items, incorrect prices and mislabelling.
The robots pass on the information they gather to human employees, who can then respond by stocking shelves or correcting labels.
The endless possibilities Walmart hopes the robotic technology will offer include freeing up shop workers to spend more time serving customers and sell merchandise.
So far the robots have only been tested in a small number of outlets in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and California – but the company is expanding this to an extra 50 locations after the success of these initial tests.
Walmart said in a statement: “We’re testing an idea in a small number of stores that uses new shelf-scanning technology to identify where products may be out of stock.
“Our associates have told us that they are excited that the technology will focus on tasks that are repeatable, predictable and manual, freeing them up to focus more on selling merchandise and serving customers, which have always been the most exciting parts of working in retail.”
