Next month will see the debut of robotic shopping assistants at Lowe's Orchard Supply Hardware store in San Jose, California.
The OSHbots, which the American retail chain created with tech startup Fellow Robots, will be tasked with greeting customers, asking them if they need help and directing them to certain store items, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Features of the five-foot tall white robot include a 3-D scanner that customers can use to find products and two rectangular screens (one on the front and one on the back) for showing in-store specials. The screens can also provide video conferences with an expert from the store.
The introduction of the robot follows a year after Lowe's bought Orchard Supply. The company said the robot is the first one in the U.S. designed for retail.
OSHbot is multilingual as well, and has the ability to speak English and Spanish, MSN reported.
"They're based on making a science fiction story a reality," said Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe's Innovation Lab. "People can come in with a random screw and say Mr. Robot, I need more of these, and if we do have it in the store, they can find it."
The Lidar light detection and ranging system, the same one used in Google's self-driving cars, is also included in the robot to help it find its way around the store, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The bot uses lasers to detect objects around it, as well as simultaneous localization and mapping to make a map of its surroundings. Matching the map to the Orchard Supply map of products' locations will allow customers to find specific items.
Lowe's and Fellow Robots are now testing new machines in a store to see what customers think of it and how they can improve its abilities.
OSHbot is the latest step Lowe's has taken in using robotics to help customers find items, MSN reported. The company's "holoroom" provides a virtual environment for customers to see how different pieces of furniture look in different rooms.
