A patent application published by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Sept 8, 2016, and filed by Walmart in March 2016 suggests that the company has at least considered the possibility.
Advertisement
There’s no word yet on when or where Walmart intends to start using the system.
Walmart is planning to eventually have self-driving shopping carts roaming its stores and herding themselves out of the parking lot.
The patent request from Walmart hints that the shopping carts will be powered with detachable motors that feature sensors and video cameras.
Think about it – the fleet of autonomous shopping carts could be controlled seamlessly from a central node in each store, while each of the carts would drive itself after its human user.
Evidently, merely patenting an autonomous shopping cart will not make it a reality. “That means testing new and innovative ways to serve the customer, which we’ve done through different initiatives like our grocery pickup service”. We’ve reached out to Walmart and will update this story when we hear back.
“In the modern retail store environment, there is a need to improve the customer experience and/or convenience for the customer”, the patent said.
Further, the benefits of a more-fully automated store are particularly appealing for retailers as labor costs rise, according to analysts.
Advertisement
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you see a strong business case for self-driving shopping carts at Walmart and other chains?
