This robot ‘works’ in convenience stores in Japan: All you need to know about TX SCARA
The machine has been developed by Telexistence, a Tokyo-based company, and is driven by its AI, called GORDON.
To make up for shortage of staff, shops across Japan are using ‘TX SCARA’, a small robot with clip-like hands. It has been developed by Telexistence, a Tokyo-based company; in the words of CEO Jin Tomioka, it has been designed to ‘automate all the repetitive jobs and boring jobs done by humans’.
“…that is the direction we are going. And the best way to do that is to use the robots,” Tomioka added.
Here's all you need to know about TX SCARA:
(1.) TX SCARA has an artificial intelligence (AI), named GORDON, which knows when and where products are to be kept on shelves. On the end of its mechanical arm, the robot has a hand with which it picks up objects.
(2.) The machine is mostly used in ‘conbini’, or Japanese convenience stores. Within these shops, guided by GORDON, it picks up bottles, cans etc., and places them on (mostly refrigerated) shelves.
(3.) Telexistence claims that TX SCARA can restock up to 1,000 bottles and cans per day. Its price, however, is still to be disclosed.
(4.) TX SCARA, as well as other Telexistence robots, are made for stores which don't have to change their layout or routine. These use Nvidia GPU-accelerated AI to allow for remote control over Azure, the cloud computing service operated by Microsoft.
(5.) Out of 16,000 FamilyMart outlets in Japan, the machine is already in use in 300. Overall, the country has more than 50,000 conbini.
(With inputs from AP)