Robotic system for modular humanless shopping structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of setting up and relocating physical shopping stores is labor-intensive and costly, especially when footfall is low, leading to potential financial losses for store owners.
Innovation Solution
A modular, human-less shopping structure equipped with wheels and a robotic system that allows for easy relocation and provides a seamless, checkout-free shopping experience, incorporating features like robotic arms for item loading, a humanoid robot for customer interaction, and self-cleaning capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a physical shopping store is set up with fixed infrastructure, then customers can have a better shopping experience by looking and feeling products, but the storeowner must expend considerable investment and face difficulty when relocating the store
Solution Approach 1:
The shopping store is divided into modular compartments that can be independently assembled, disassembled, and relocated. Each compartment contains specific product categories and can be configured in different arrangements, enabling easy reconfiguration and relocation while maintaining the physical shopping experience.
Solution Approach 2:
The store structure transitions from a static fixed infrastructure to a dynamic modular system. The compartments can be moved, reconfigured, and relocated using robotic systems, allowing the store to adapt to different locations and customer needs while maintaining operational functionality.
2Productivity
If the store is relocated to a location with higher footfall, then potential revenue increases, but the relocation process is effort-intensive and requires substantial re-investment
Solution Approach 1:
The store is segmented into movable compartments that can be independently transported. This segmentation allows for efficient relocation where compartments can be moved separately and quickly reassembled at the new location, reducing relocation time and effort while enabling the store to capitalize on high-footfall locations.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical relocation efforts are replaced with automated robotic systems. Robots handle the heavy lifting, transportation, and assembly of store compartments, eliminating the need for human effort and substantial re-investment in relocation operations.
3Device complexity
If traditional manual store setup and relocation is used, then the process is simple to understand, but it requires considerable human effort and time
Solution Approach 1:
The modular store system performs self-assembly and self-relocation through robotic systems. The compartments are designed to automatically connect and configure when brought together by robots, eliminating the need for human setup effort while maintaining system simplicity through standardized interfaces and modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
Human manual labor for store setup and relocation is replaced with automated robotic systems. The robots perform all physical manipulation, transportation, and assembly tasks, reducing human effort to minimal supervision while maintaining operational simplicity through programmable automation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system including a modular shopping structure is disclosed. The structure includes a compartment including a plurality of shelves for storing a plurality of items. Each shelf may include a front portion and a back portion. The compartment may further include a tray receiving area disposed in proximity to the back portion of the shelves. The tray receiving area may include a plurality of trays for receiving and temporarily storing the items. The structure may further include a robotic system including one or more robotic arms connected via one or more rails. The robotic arms may pick one or more items from the trays and place the items to the shelves via their back portions. The shelves may automatically slide the placed items to the front portions.