CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -It’s tall, lanky and even a little futuristic and it’s been set free on the grocery aisles of the Giant Eagle in Legacy Village in Lyndhust and the Giant Eagle Market District in Cuyahoga Falls.
The self-propelled “Tally,” from the company Simbe Robotics, travels up and down the aisles scanning the store shelves.
“Tally is a suite of sensors and cameras that work together to help it to move seamlessly throughout the store as it photographs shelves to identify when products are out of stock,” according to a spokesperson for Giant Eagle.
“When out of stock items are identified, Tally communicates the information to our Legacy Village Team Members to ensure that the product is promptly replenished and available for customers, giving our Team Members more time to interact with and assist our customers.”
Giant Eagle is testing the program to its two location and will determine later if the program will expand to more locations.
According to the robotics company’s demonstration the robot can also scan prices on the shelves and make sure they match what the register will ring up, especially in sale situations.
The free roaming device might be a bit startling to some when they see it, but the spokesperson advised to just shop as normal.
“Tally is equipped with a multitude of sensors that enable the device to recognize when it happens upon an obstacle (person, shopping cart, aisle display, etc.) along its programmed route,” the spokesperson said.
“When an obstacle is detected, Tally will simply go around it, but if it cannot, it will turn around and proceed to the next aisle as to not disturb customers as they shop.”
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