Inside Outdoor Summer 2016

store in less than an hour. As the robot

travels down each aisle, it automatically

compiles and processes huge amounts

of big data, imaging every product and

barcode in every aisle. Once com-

pleted, the Space Genius scan provides

retailers and manufacturers with the

precise location of everything in the

store, as well as all instances of price

tag discrepancy, missing price tags,

empty shelving and more.

The Space Genius also provides

retailers with an interactive 3D map of

their store, precisely depicting each

product exactly as it is displayed on the

shelf. This realistic, virtual store can

either be displayed on the company’s

Web site for consumer use and shop-

ping, or toured remotely by retail execu-

tives at headquarters.

“With one click, customers can

virtually navigate through any scanned

store anywhere in the world and view

products on the shelf exactly as they

are,” said the company. “As shoppers

tour the aisles, they can pull products

off the shelf, spin them around to read

more product information and add them

to a shopping cart to be shipped or

delivered by local courier.”

Included with the Space Genius is

a 3D planogram application. “Unlike

traditional methods of creating plano-

grams, which are based primarily on

static, theoretical inputs, the 4D Space

Genius intelligently generates dynamic

‘realograms’ based on actual, scanned

data,” says 4D.

Then there’s Pepper, a humanoid

robot that Pizza Hut expects to have in

its restaurants in Singapore by the end

of this year. A joint effort with Master-

Card and created by Softbank Robotic,

Pepper not only will take orders, pro-

vide product information and facilitate

payment, it will also be able to access

customer and sales information in order

to make personalized recommendations

and offers. And at the Carnegie Mellon

University store, visitors will find An-

dyVision, an autonomous robot that fus-

es image-processing, machine-learning

algorithms, a database of images of

the store’s products, a basic map of the

store’s layout and navigation sensors to

take thorough inventories and tell staff

when an item is running low in stock or

merchandise is out of place.

“The idea for AndyVision was born

out of me being a shopper. I go to a

lot of stores and I find it very difficult to

find the items I want, and sometimes

I leave when I don’t find what I want,”

said Priya Narasimhanm, head of the

Intel Science and Technology Center for

Embedded Computing at CMU.

Best Buy, meanwhile, has begun

using Chloe, a robot that retrieves

products that customers request from

a kiosk, and Target recently began a

trial of Tally, a robot that travels through

aisles and takes inventory.

Some pretty smart machines are

being deployed in the outdoor market,

as well. Although created largely to

enhance e-commerce customer ser-

vice, The North Face has been working

with one of the most intelligent artificial

machines, partnering in the development

of the first mobile app experience to put

Watson, the powerful artificial intel-

ligence computer owned by IBM, to use

in a retail environment. The application

was designed to help online shoppers

pick the perfect jacket for their respec-

tive wants and needs without having

to bungle through product pages on

the small mobile screen. Watson asks

questions such as where, when and

during which activities the jacket will be

used, and then based on the feedback,

crunches data and makes a recom-

mendation. During initial trials, says The

North Face, users who provided feed-

back rated the experience a 2.5 out of 3,

and 75 percent said they’d use it again.

Osprey Packs likewise recently intro-

duced its Packfinder digital tool which

“allows customers to take a step-by-step

journey through the decision-making

process of finding the perfect pack for

the intended activity,” announced the

company. Customers answer several

simple questions such as the primary

activity the pack will be used for, trip

length, desired features and price range.

Packfinder then determines the best

Osprey product solution and creates a

report card explaining the selection.

Again, both Packfinder and the TNF-

Watson tool were created for online

sales, but it’s naïve not to notice how

Jobs with 99% Probability

of Being Automated

Telemarketers

Title Examiners, Abstractors and Searchers

Sewers, Hand

Mathematical Technicians

Insurance Underwriters

Watch Repairers

Cargo and Freight Agents

Tax Preparers

Photographic Process Workers and Processing

Machine Operators

New Accounts Clerks

Library Technicians

Source: Oxford University

Global

Estimated Enterprise Robot Shipments (thousands)

Source: International Federation of Robotics; Business Insider Intelligence

Thermal Loss During 1 Hour

Running in - 5C

Source: Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Sport & Exercise Science; kora

290

2015E 2016E 2017E 2018E 2019E 2020E 2021E

339

397

465

544

637

745

SHOLA

BASE LAYER

-2

-3

--4

-5

-6

-7

-8

MERINO

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POLYESTER

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Mean Relative Temperature Changes (C)

Inside

Outdoor

Summer

2016