Feb 3 2016
Fellow Robots, a privately-held Silicon Valley robotics company, has teamed up with Nihon Unisys, Ltd. (Headquarters: Koto-Ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Shigeru Kurokawa), to provide Autonomous Service Robots for use in retail establishment Yamada Denki Co. Ltd. (Headquarters: Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture; President & CEO: Noboru Yamada) in Tokyo area starting February 1, 2016.
The autonomous robots are Fellow Robots second generation retail robots called NAVIITM. NAVII shows and guides customers to products and service locations by understanding and speaking multiple languages. NAVII can also help store employees by checking current inventory information.
“Service robotics is a rapid growing industry, and we are excited to partner with Nihon Unisys to expand our robot technology to Japan,” said Fellow Robots CEO Marco Mascorro. “Robots are enhancing store employees with specific tasks, providing an additional layer of support by helping customers with simple questions, enabling more time for them to focus on delivering project expertise.”
In 2014, Fellow Robots developed and launched retail robots in partnership with Lowe’s Home Improvement. Today, Oshbots have been working and assisting employees and customers in the San Jose Orchard Supply Hardware Store in California.
Increased work efficiencies and streamlined operations are imperative in the Japanese retail industry and worldwide to compete with online retailers.