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Bossa Nova is taking a “broader strategy” to image-based AI analytics for retailers. | Picture Credit score: Bossa Nova
Bossa Nova Robotics isn’t any stranger to pivoting its enterprise. The corporate began out engaged on robotic toys when it was based in 2005. Then it developed a robotic for researchers referred to as “mObi” that was based mostly on Carnegie Mellon College’s ballbot spherical locomotion expertise. Then it rolled out what it’s greatest recognized for – autonomous cell robots for stock monitoring, with Walmart as its major buyer.
The corporate’s take care of Walmart, nonetheless, abruptly led to November 2020. At one level, Walmart deliberate to broaden using Bossa Nova’s robots from 500 to 1,000 shops. However Walmart “discovered completely different, generally easier options that proved simply as helpful, stated individuals acquainted with the scenario,” based on The Wall Avenue Journal. These options included utilizing human workers for monitoring stock.
Understandably, Bossa Nova hasn’t talked publicly about its relationship with Walmart. So it’s been unclear what the longer term held for the corporate, which shut down its European enterprise unit and reportedly laid off 50% of its workers after dropping the world’s largest retailer as a buyer.
Nevertheless, The Robotic Report has discovered Bossa Nova has pivoted its enterprise but once more. The corporate is taking a “broader strategy” to image-based AI analytics for retailers and de-emphasizing the function of robotics.
De-emphasizing robotics
In case you peruse Bossa Nova’s redesigned web site, you’ll be hard-pressed to search out references to robots. No point out of robots within the firm’s datasheet (PDF) or on the “About Us,” “Firm,” “Options” or “Management” pages. You will see the phrase “robotic” within the part that explains how its image-based AI analytics expertise is seize agnostic:
“Our AI is seize agnostic. Which means it could possibly use information captured from various kinds of sensors. Whether or not you’d like to make use of a cell machine, a robotic or mounted cameras, we’ve acquired you lined.”
The first seize machine Bossa Nova now touts upfront on the web site is a cell app. “Area associates, skilled customers, crowds, and different brokers take photographs of merchandise, shows, and cabinets in a number of shops. Bossa Nova interprets the picture in 5 seconds or much less. Bossa Nova delivers detailed product data, calculates analytics, and highlights points. Our prospects file the pictures and the info from the pictures of their databases. Then, our prospects ship enhanced analytics for his or her retail and CPG shoppers.”
In earlier iterations of the web site, the corporate touted its robotics capabilities and information, even dedicating a web page to its spinoff from CMU’s famend Robotics Institute. The next two screenshots present elements of Bossa Nova’s web site from September and October 2021. The screenshots have been taken utilizing the Wayback Machine.
Right here’s how Bossa Nova’s “Management” web page reads now. Once more, there’s no reference to the corporate’s robotics experience or heritage. As an alternative the web page touts the chief staff’s “distinctive mixture of retail and machine studying experience.”
Agnostic to seize mechanism
Bossa Nova advised The Robotic Report it’s nonetheless concerned in robotics and has “proofs of idea with giant, nationwide retailers that need to leverage the capabilities of superior robotics to assist handle stock and enhance retailer operations.” Bossa Nova stated it couldn’t identify the retailers for authorized causes.
Bossa Nova’s interim chief advertising officer is Holly Roland. Roland is also an working associate at Cota Capital, a San Francisco-based funding agency that led Bossa Nova’s $29 million Collection C spherical in June 2018. On the time, the Collection C introduced Bossa Nova’s whole funding to $70 million.
Roland stated dropping Walmart as a buyer was an eye-opening expertise. She stated Bossa Nova concluded retailers aren’t prepared for [inventory robots] on the stage robotics producers want them to be.
“They’ll get there ultimately,” she stated. “Retailers have such skinny margins that their velocity of adoption of robotics has been impeded by quite a few points – incorporating new tech into operations may be difficult for any firm, however the dynamics of retail retailer operations is an particularly powerful atmosphere for deploying automation applied sciences, altering long-standing practices and coaching workers.”
Roland added that the tempo of robotics adoption is just too sluggish for it to be the one focus.
“Retailers are coping with so many disruptions that bringing insights to them by means of different channels is likely to be the quickest manner to assist them to enhance numerous operational capabilities,” she stated. “We need to be agnostic to the seize mechanism they need us to make use of. Desire a robotic? We’ve got it. Need your workers to make use of a cell app? We can assist you there as nicely.”
Roland stated Bossa Nova considers this a broadening of the enterprise greater than downplaying anybody expertise, corresponding to robotics.
“It’s definitely evolving as we type out the brand new enterprise technique and the place we go subsequent,” she stated. “Bossa Nova was nicely often called a robotics firm, however we need to be clear within the rebrand that we’re about insights and evaluation. Retailers have all this nice data coming from many seize mechanisms, and that’s the place we need to be a participant – retail AI.”
Simbe’s Tally robotic strikes autonomously by means of shops to verify stock ranges. | Picture credit score: Simbe Robotics
Retail robotics outlook
Simbe Robotics is a number one developer of cell robots for on-shelf stock monitoring. When Bossa Nova’s major focus was cell robots, it was a direct competitor of Simbe’s. Not a lot anymore. Brad Bogolea, co-founder and CEO of Simbe Robotics, disagrees with the thought retailers aren’t prepared for robotics.
“At Simbe we noticed the pandemic additional illuminate the significance of real-time, correct and automatic shelf intelligence information to strengthen provide chains, enhance in-store operations and improve the shopper and staff member expertise,” he stated. “We’ve seen large progress over the past 18 months and elevated curiosity amongst retailers particularly within the grocery house, celebrating a chainwide growth with Schnuck Markets, new partnerships with Meijer and Hy-Vee, and a number of other unannounced retailer relationships.
“This momentum alerts a rising consciousness of the crucial significance amongst retailers to leverage automation and pc imaginative and prescient expertise that strategically and cost-effectively improves in-store operations, whereas offering invaluable information insights throughout their enterprise.
“Whereas many corporations have tried to seize such a information with cell units, it doesn’t present the protection and frequency retailers want at scale.”
Simbe was additionally not too long ago granted a patent masking the applying of autonomous cell robots and imaginative and prescient for monitoring the freshness/ripeness of fruit and veggies in a grocery show.
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