Everyone has experienced the annoyance and unrendered service of a faulty vending machine: a candy bar stuck somewhere between its allocated shelf and the dispenser door. Everyone has gone to their local convenience store, only to find their favorite product suddenly out of stock. Everyone has been disappointed at one point or another, to find that a lot of their ordered groceries have been swapped out for lesser quality alternatives upon delivery. As a society driven by the instant gratification of online shopping and near-immediate shipment, we’ve all but become unaccustomed to these inconveniences.
With their newly released Smart Store solution, VenHub is purporting to have rectified these situations, taking the guess work out of the equation for both retailers and their customers. The fully prefabricated and kitted-out system can be immediately deployed in any number of contexts – everywhere from a shopping center and main street commercial district to a park and parking lot. It takes just seven days to install.
Resembling a traditional storefront but with hyper engineered bullet-proof glazing, the container-like structure holds a hyper-efficient interior in which two robotic arms – cheekily personified as Barb and Peter – work in tandem pulling items, pre-order through a complementary app – off the shelf and carefully placing them in one of four dispensers. The arms are equipped with two grippers and suction cups, allowing them to be adaptable, regardless of if the product is soft or hard packaged: heavy or delicate. If one happens to lose function or “take a break,” the other picks up the slack.
No staff is required which accounts for a significant reduction in cost. Hygiene is also a clear consideration. There is also a degree of discretion as a customer might otherwise be embarrassed to buy one product or another. That said, an integrated monitor ensures age verification and general safety. Regardless, one can simply drive or walk up to collect their items.
The whole system runs on the latest in especially energy-efficient battery technology. Unlike the bottega around the corner, it stays open 24/7. The VenHub Smart Store is already operating in key locations: the Hollywood Bowl and LAX Metro for example.
AI comes into the picture not merely as an inventory management tool but as a real-time data-analytics solution as well. The intuitive technology “takes stock” of what items are selling out faster than others at a specific location and can coordinate orders accordingly. This is where the convenience store conundrum of stock mismanagement is abated.
Though initially developed to dispense food goods, the modular systems will eventually be programmed for pet food, pharmaceuticals, and electronics. It’ll also be developed into a smart locker system. From a health standpoint, the dilemma of limited pharmacy operation hours – being able to urgently get medicine – will also be rectified.
To learn more about VenHub’s Smart Store, visit venhub.com.
Photography courtesy of VenHub.
