Walmart Testing AI-Enabled Cameras, Displays in Tech-Driven New York Store
Walmart is testing artificial intelligence-enabled cameras, interactive displays and a data center in a Neighborhood Market in Levittown, New York, blogged Matt Smith, associate director-program management, Thursday. The goal of the Intelligent Retail Lab, inside a 50,000-square-foot space in the…
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New York City suburb, is to explore how AI can contribute to the store experience through sensors, cameras and processors. The initial focus of IRL is product inventory and availability; the retailer will launch the program with meat products, said Smith. He quoted Mike Hanrahan, IRL CEO, as saying the team will use real-time information to let associates know more precisely when to restock products so they’re available on shelves when needed. Cameras and real-time analytics will automatically trigger out-of-stock notifications to internal apps that alert associates when to re-stock. The store has to be able to detect the product on the shelf, recognize unit or weight volume, and compare quantities to upcoming sales demand, he said. Associates “won’t have to continually comb the store to replace products running low on the shelves” because they’ll know what to bring out of the back room before customers show up. A goal is that customers will be able to trust that products they’re looking for will be available during the times they shop, he said. The store will also tap the technology to ensure shopping carts are available and registers open. As part of the program, technology will be exposed, and shoppers will be able to interact with educational displays placed in the store. A welcome center allows customers to “dive deeper” into technical specifications and questions. A large display encourages visitors to “move around and learn how technology reacts to body positioning,” Smith said. The tech was built “to improve associates’ jobs” and make their lives “more interesting by alleviating mundane tasks," he said. Some 100 IRL associates will participate in experiments daily, he said.