According to LG, the future of retail is robotic-- the S. Korean company plans to put robots to work at the largest supermarket chain in the country, E-Mart, in the shape of self-driving shopping carts.
Developed by the LG lab responsible for a number of robots released under the CLOi brand, the shopping cart robots promise to "free visitors from the hassle of pushing heavy carts by themselves." The company says the robots will follow shoppers as they walk through the aisles, automatically avoiding obstacles along the way.
The CLOi (stands for "clever, clear, close operating intelligence") brand offers 8 robots aimed at different tasks, including guiding, cleaning, lawn mowing and, in the case of the SuitBot, help workers lift heavy objects more easily. Such robots can find plenty of use in S. Korea, being a nation with an aging population, and as such it comes to no surprise LG is investing in a number of robot makers across the world.
In turn, E-Mart is investing in retail tech, such as "smart store" allowing customers to pay for items via mobile payment service without need to go through a checkout counter.
Go LG to Develop Smart Shopping Cart Robot With E-Mart (Yonhap News Agency)
