{"id":838,"date":"2019-09-30T14:48:12","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T14:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2019\/09\/30\/2019930meet-the-stop-and-shop-robot\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T19:27:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T19:27:46","slug":"2019930meet-the-stop-and-shop-robot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2019\/09\/30\/2019930meet-the-stop-and-shop-robot\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Stop &amp; Shop Robot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">By Brent Costantino<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Frequent Stop &amp; Shop customer, Karen Swanson, is skeptical of the grocery store\u2019s newest beeping employee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cI hate this thing,\u201d Swanson said. \u201cI\u2019m sure we will be seeing more of it, but I am certainly not a fan.\u201d<\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          combination-animation-none\n          individual-animation-none\n          individual-text-animation-none\n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:2500.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:66.68000030517578%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  \n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Karen-final.jpg\" alt=\"Stop &amp;amp; Shop customer, Karen Swanson, shopping alongside Marty.\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Karen-final.jpg\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Karen-final.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"2500x1667\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Stop &amp;amp; Shop customer, Karen Swanson, shopping alongside Marty.\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5d9212e6f6253f20faa5c0ea\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p class=\"\">Stop &amp; Shop customer, Karen Swanson, shopping alongside Marty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Marty, or as employees call him, Smarty, glides his way around the aisles searching for spills or falling hazards. When the robot detects a hazard, it will blink yellow and repeatedly announce \u201ccaution\u201d in English and Spanish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Not only does Marty alert the customers of hazardous spills, but he announces it to the employees over the intercom that a clean-up is needed.<\/p>\n<p>   <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ivAfwUId1Z8?wmode=opaque&amp;enablejsapi=1\" height=\"480\" width=\"854\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Current Stop &amp; Shop employees are still adjusting to their new and technical co-worker.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cI don\u2019t like him,\u201d Jesse Rodriguez, a Stop &amp; Shop employee, said. \u201cHe\u2019s weird and I feel like he\u2019s always in the way or following me around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Marty weighs 140-pounds and stands at 5 feet, 3 inches tall.&nbsp; He costs $35,000, which may seem a bit pricey for a mobile robotic hazard sign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">But Marty offers more than meets the eye.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Marty, designed by Badger Technologies, can also process data through its camera sensors and will increase visibility for store owners of low stock and out-of-stock items.&nbsp; For example, if the Colgate toothpaste runs out on aisle one, Marty can scan past and be able to analyze the lack of inventory.  He can then relay the data to store managers through internet connection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Badger Technologies has also partnered with AT&amp;T to provide the robots with a more private network connection than typical in-store Wi-Fi, according to Badger Technology\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.badger-technologies.com\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">website<\/span><\/a>.&nbsp; The two companies will bring 5G-enabled robots to retail chains nationwide.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">&nbsp;\u201cWorking with AT&amp;T enables us to better support our retail customers by delivering information faster to increase store efficiencies, improve customer service and boost profits,\u201d&nbsp; said Tim Rowland, CEO of Badger Technologies, in a joint <a href=\"https:\/\/about.att.com\/story\/2019\/att_and_badger_technologies.html\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">press release<\/span><\/a> with AT&amp;T.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cThis gives Badger Technologies more control over what data travels beyond the walls of the store and what data stays onsite, which effectively addresses mounting privacy and security concerns among retailers,\u201d according to a statement on the <a href=\"https:\/\/about.att.com\/story\/2019\/att_and_badger_technologies.html\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">AT&amp;T<\/span><\/a> website. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">There were nearly 500 Marty robots deployed to Stop &amp; Shop chains across the U.S. as of January 2019.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cMarty actually frees up time so that our associates can focus on better serving customers &#8211; as opposed to consistently scanning the store floor for potential hazards,\u201d said Jennifer Brogan, Stop &amp; Shop director of external communications, when asked if Marty was the corporation\u2019s first step in automizing jobs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Other retail chains are implementing robotic technology as well including some Walmart chains, which have autonomous scrubbers cleaning the floors, according to Walmart\u2019s official <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate.walmart.com\/newsroom\/innovation\/20181004\/youll-never-believe-whos-scrubbing-the-floors-at-walmart\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">website<\/span><\/a>. Other stores such as Lowes have robots assisting customers with questions, and keeping track of inventory, according to Lowe\u2019s Innovation Lab\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lowesinnovationlabs.com\/lowebot\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">website<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          combination-animation-none\n          individual-animation-none\n          individual-text-animation-none\n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:2500.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:66.68000030517578%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  \n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/worker-final.jpg\" alt=\"Humans and robots now work side-by-side.\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/worker-final.jpg\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/worker-final.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"2500x1667\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Humans and robots now work side-by-side.\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5d921328533bb24cf280d3b7\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p class=\"\">Humans and robots now work side-by-side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Stop and Shop\u2019s newest robotic employee named Marty, is more than meets the eye.  Not only is he an interesting site for customers to see, but he has some pretty cool internalized settings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hamden","category-homepage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1804,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions\/1804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}