Major UK retailer brings in ROBOTS to undertake a ‘crucial’ supermarket task

Morrisons has unveiled its newest staff members – in the form of aisle-roaming robots.

The retail giant is trialling ‘Tally’ robots at three stores in Wetherby, Redcar and Stockton, to monitor how products are being displayed on shelves. 

Using advanced AI and computer vision technology, Tally is designed to spot out-of-stock items, pricing errors, and misplaced products. 

Morrisons’ technology manager, Katherine Allanach, called this a ‘crucial’ role. 

‘It is a crucial but time-consuming task and so Tally aims to allow more time for colleagues to focus on customer service,’ she told The Grocer. 

The news comes shortly after Morrisons announced that it would be closing dozens of its cafes and stores forever. 

The company said a ‘wide-ranging review’ had identified several areas where the costs of operations are ‘significantly out of line with usage, volumes or the value that customers place on them’. 

As a result of the shakeup, 365 people’s jobs have also been marked as at risk of redundancy, although the company insists the majority of staff will be deployed elsewhere in the business. 

Morrisons has unveiled its newest staff members – in the form of aisle-roaming robots. The retail giant is trialling ‘Tally’ robots at three supermarkets in Wetherby, Redcar and Stockton, to monitor how products are being displayed on shelves

The news comes shortly after Morrisons announced that it would be closing dozens of its cafes and stores forever

The Tally robots are the brainchild of US company Simbe Robotics, and are already being used globally by Carrefour, BJ’s, Albertsons, ShopRite, and Kroger. 

Using a combination of autofocus, auto-exposure, and HDR camera systems, the bots are designed to analsye the stock on the shelves.  

‘Designed to capture accurate inventory in any retail environment, from standard fixture, variable shelving units to coolers, freezers and top stock auditing,’ Simbe Robotics explains on its website. 

The bots are tall and slim, and have ‘polite, friendly faces’. 

‘Compact, slim design and shy, polite mannerisms are unobtrusive to the customer experience,’ Simbe Robotics added. 

‘Tally is seamlessly integrated in challenging retail environments like tight, crowded spaces and aisles.’

According to the company, the bot is able to capture up to 30,000 products an hour with 99 per cent accuracy. 

And if it runs low on battery, Tally will self-dock before charging itself. 

According to the company, the bot is able to capture up to 30,000 products an hour with 99 per cent accuracy

Using a combination of autofocus, auto-exposure, and HDR camera systems, the bots are designed to analsye the stock on the shelves

While the idea of a robot kitted out with high-tech cameras might sound creepy, Simbe Robotics maintains that it will not record people. 

‘Tally is not a surveillance machine,’ the company reassured.

‘Tally captures shelves and understands the environment around it.’

This isn’t the first time that Morrisons has turned to technology. 

Last year, the retailer was mocked across social media, after it installed buttons that customers had to press if they wanted to buy certain pricey alcoholic beverages. 

One user said: ‘I have actually got to say, this will put me completely off buying any spirits from Morrisons. 

‘What an absolute joke. Buzz for booze? Let’s go elsewhere.’

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