Check Inventory and Refill with Camera and Robot Arm
Expected to Target US Convenience Store Market After Development
Japanese SoftBank has announced an investment of 20 billion yen (18.14 billion KRW) in a 'part-time job robot' that automatically restocks beverages on convenience store shelves, drawing significant attention. It is already known that stores that have introduced this robot have seen a reduction of more than 20% in their existing workload, and the adoption of robots in convenience stores is expected to become more active in the future.
On the 7th, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that SoftBank decided to make a joint investment with six companies including Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry and the Japanese robot development startup 'Teleexistence.'
Teleexistence's part-time job robot automatically replenishes beverages in refrigerated shelves at stores such as convenience stores. When its built-in camera detects an empty spot on the shelf, it moves to where the stock is located, extends its arm to check the product, and then places it back on the shelf. In short, the robot performs convenience store part-time tasks of inventory checking and replenishment. The robot can restock up to about 1,000 beverages per day.
In Japan, 150 FamilyMart stores have already introduced this robot since 2020, and it is known that the overall workload has decreased by 20% thanks to the robot.
Teleexistence plans to use this investment to double the number of beverages it can restock daily from 1,000 to 2,000. Additionally, in partnership with Hon Hai Precision Industry, it will increase the current annual production volume from 300 units to 3,000 units. Some of the produced robots are scheduled to be supplied to Japan's Seven-Eleven starting next spring.
SoftBank, through its subsidiary SoftBank Robotics, plans to start selling the part-time job robots to convenience stores in the United States from 2025. According to the National Association of Convenience Stores in the U.S., there are 150,000 convenience stores as of this year, which is 2.5 times more than in Japan. SoftBank aims to target this larger overseas market and will handle repairs in case the robots break down to attract customers.
Nikkei stated, "With ongoing issues such as labor shortages and rising labor costs due to low birth rates and aging populations, this part-time job robot could improve productivity in the distribution industry."
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