Adroit Worldwide Media, Inc. (“AWM Smart Shelf®” or “AWM”), a vision technology company, partners with Microsoft to enable intelligent retail with their autonomous shopping solution, AWM Frictionless™.
AWM Frictionless™ provides convenience to consumers by allowing them to shop as normal and then check out by simply walking out of the store. For retailers, it not only reduces costs but also provides highly detailed data all the way down to product interactions and customer paths. The solution can be implemented in a wide range of store sizes and formats, from micro-markets, to convenience stores and larger-format retailers.
From a technology standpoint, the PaaS and IaaS pieces of Microsoft Azure are heavily utilized to provide a reliable and scalable platform, and on top of this sits a full suite of custom AI and application software. This software supports AWM Frictionless™ as well as powers other integrated and standalone AWM offerings that provide an end-to-end smart store experience.
“Microsoft has played an integral role from the start,” explained Kevin Howard, AWM Chief Executive Officer. “We have worked hand-in-hand to build out solutions that are truly enabling digital transformation for retail. As we move forward, we are experiencing the customer journey evolving into a seamless experience before our very eyes.”
While in-store, consumers expect to be met with the same level of convenience they experience shopping online. Through the use of specialized cameras and sensors, computer vision / deep learning, and deterministic algorithms, AWM Frictionless™ makes this possible by achieving a robust understanding of the store environment and the actions occurring within it. To take ease-of-use to the next level, using Azure Cognitive Services, shoppers will be able to be identified with their face plus voice or an alternative verifier, thus completely bypassing any need to sign in on a device at the point of entry.
“Our focus is on providing the building blocks that partners can use to build leading-edge solutions,” explained Keith Mercier, General Manager, WW Retail and Consumer Goods, Microsoft Corp. “We’re pleased that AWM is joining us at NRF to showcase how technology – and the power of Azure – is being applied to help retailers compete and succeed.”
AWM has already deployed its AWM Frictionless™ technology for several multi-billion-dollar organizations in the United States and Mexico, with hundreds of locations expected to come online in 2020. Other AWM Smart Shelf® solutions have been deployed in 16 countries around the world across North and Central America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. These include AWM’s anonymous shopper tracking, demographics reporting, employee productivity monitoring, on-shelf inventory intelligence, and custom shelf-edge LED displays which support ads, electronic shelf labels, and planogram functionality.
Source: AWM SMART SHELF