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| A visitor takes a look LG Electronics' CLOi CartBot during the IFA trade show that took place in Germany from Aug. 31 to Sept. 5. LG said Monday it will develop a smart shopping cart with local discount chain operator E-mart. / Courtesy of LG Electronics |
By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Electronics announced Monday it will develop retail service robots with local discount chain operator E-mart that give customers a better shopping experience with a local discount chain operator E-mart.
The Korean tech giant signed an agreement with E-mart at the latter's headquarters in Seoul to develop the robots. The first product of the agreement will be a smart shopping cart designed to help with carrying heavy items.
LG said the smart shopping cart uses autonomous driving and object recognition technology to follow shoppers and avoid obstacles. LG's Advanced Robotics Lab will be in charge of developing the autonomous shopping cart.
E-mart already showcased the cart, "Eli," in April. During test operations, Eli followed shoppers, helping them browse shopping items and allowing them to pay directly using a payment terminal attached to it.
LG said the new cart will focus even more on self-driving and obstacle-recognition technologies. "The autonomous driving and obstacle recognition technologies that the Advanced Robotics Lab developed will be applied to the shopping cart," an LG official said.
Stating that "E-mart also plans to apply its own technologies to the smart shopping cart," the LG official added the two firms will conduct test operations in the first half of next year.
LG explained the agreement with E-mart is in line with its business plan to beef up robot products. To expand its business portfolio, LG launched the Advanced Robotics Lab in June, 2017 and introduced its brand CLOi at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
The firm has introduced various robots including an airport guide, server, porter, shopping cart, cleaner and lawn mower as well as a robotic exoskeleton. The firm has been test operating its CLOi Home robot equipped with artificial intelligence technology at the stores of local bakery franchise Paris Baguette.
Cho Taeg-il, senior vice president of LG and head of the Convergence Business Development Center, said the firm "will try to showcase its service robots at various locations to offer customers a better life experience and value."
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