Wal-Mart to begin replacing janitors with robot floor cleaners.
The American retail giant is to introduce 360 robot janitors by the end of January. They are said to have the ability to engage in autonomous cleaning even when customers are around.
The operating software of these robots is called "BrainOS" and it has been designed by the San Diego-based start-up "Brain Corp."
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Originally Posted by Bloomberg Technology
"The world’s largest retailer is rolling out 360 autonomous floor-scrubbing robots in some of its stores in the U.S. by the end of the January, it said in a joint statement with Brain Corp., which makes the machines. The autonomous janitors can clean floors on their own even when customers are around, according to the San Diego-based startup.
Walmart has already been experimenting with automating the scanning of shelves for out-of-stock items and hauling products from storage for online orders. Advances in computer vision are also making it possible to use retail floor data to better understand consumer behavior, improve inventory tracking and even do away with checkout counters, as Amazon.com Inc. is trying to do with its cashierless stores. Brain’s robots are equipped with an array of sensors that let them to gather and upload data."
More details here.