Sensei, a leading provider of autonomous store technology, has launched what it claims is one of the largest and most sophisticated autonomous retail environments in the world.
Created in collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), the 500 sq. m. facility in Lisbon, Portugal, is a ‘first of its kind’ test lab. Not open to the public, the showcase store provides a retail environment for Sensei and its partners to develop and test new autonomous store technologies. The technology behind the ‘Dojo’ concept is said to be scalable for retail spaces ranging from 150 sq. m. to 1,500 sq. m.
Sensei’s Dojo recreates all the features typically found in grocery stores around the world so it can test and showcase autonomous retail in the most realistic environment possible. The size of the store aims to demonstrate the scalability of autonomous store technology and allows for the inclusion and testing of innovations that further improve on the friction-free shopping experience. The new features include gateless entry and exit, and an automatic card payment terminal where purchases are displayed in real-time at the end of a shop, so customers can shop without using an app.
A major innovation is the automated tracking of products served from assisted counters, such as a bakery, butchery or fish counter, and the integration of self-service coffee and juice machines. Sensei’s technology ensures that these items, as well as those taken by customers directly from shelves, fridges, freezers, and fresh produce aisles, can all be tracked.
Sensei´s technology uses computer vision, sensors and AI to recognise all products and customer interactions automatically, so retailers can track inventory in real-time and access insights to optimise their operations and merchandising, and increase sales and customer satisfaction.
Vasco Portugal, CEO and co-founder of Sensei, commented: “Friction-free shopping is on the cusp of becoming mainstream. Many of Europe’s largest supermarket groups are testing autonomous store technology or have already launched a check-out free store.
“Sensei’s Dojo is a big step in the rollout of autonomous stores and a major leap forward in this retail transformation. This cutting-edge facility proves autonomous store technology can work in larger store formats and shows what grocery shopping will be like for millions of people globally within the next five years. This is what all supermarkets will look like in future.”
