According to Statista, the global unmanned retail market is projected to grow from around $1 billion in 2021 to $4 billion by 2026. In Japan, the unmanned retail market is expected to reach several hundred billion yen by 2025. More unmanned retail stores are popping up in office buildings and shopping malls across the country.
Such stores feature open shelves stocked with various products but operate without staff to scan items or process payments. Customers can simply grab their items and go, enjoying a seamless cashier-less checkout experience. No individual item scanning is required. But how does the system instantly identify the items a customer selects and calculate the total payment?
The answer lies in a new retail model called CO-URIBA, launched by Hitachi Group, a global Fortune 500 multinational company from Japan. The model aims to create a “happy workplace” by enhancing employee well-being and fostering new connections among staff members.
The secret to providing customers with a true “hands-free shopping” experience lies in the Femto Mega, a high-precision iToF camera from Orbbec installed inside the store.
Hands-Free Shopping: Pick and Go
Femto Mega, powered by Microsoft’s industry-proven iToF technology and integrated with the NVIDIA Jetson platform, delivers high-quality 3D imaging with superior alignment precision in depth and RGB images. It is worth mentioning that asingleFemto Mega can efficiently adapt to both consumers’ trajectory tracking and gesture recognition applications within the CO-URIBA system, providing more accurate dynamic monitoring with more stable data synchronization. Even when a customer picks up a small item, such as a piece of chewing gum, the Femto Mega on the shelves and ceiling can precisely recognize its surface and dimensions, instantly transmitting 3D image data to the system for checkout. Additionally, if the customer picks up an item and later returns it to the shelf, the system automatically detects this action and cancels the item from the purchase.
Femto Mega
Data-Driven Inventory Management
To accurately capture customer’s shopping behavior, including “standing in front of certain products for a while before picking one up,” “taking a moment to think and then putting it back,” and “some products never catching the customer’s eye,” the CO-URIBA store is equipped with one or multiple Femto Mega to more comprehensively record these action data.
Equipped with high-precision synchronization triggers and plug-and-play multi-camera accessories, the Femto Mega enables several cameras to collaborate seamlessly within the store. With the widest field of view of up to 120° horizontal and 120° vertical, it captures comprehensive, multi-angle data without any gaps. This ability to visualize consumer behavior is a key feature of the CO-URIBA model. It not only helps stores optimize inventory management but also provides manufacturers with valuable insights for refining sales strategies and launching targeted marketing campaigns. Ultimately, this drives greater revenue by promoting popular products.
CO-URIBA
Beyond retail, CO-URIBA also empowers companies to leverage detailed user purchase data and behavior logs to assess and enhance the effectiveness of their employee welfare program. Currently, CO-URIBA is deployed in 15 Hitachi offices, with over 6,000 employees using the system. The heartwarming design of CO-URIBA allows employees to remotely send “gifts” via an online “thank you” feature, with recipients able to pick up their gifts at nearby stores. By offering a fun way for employees to greet colleagues or show appreciation for their work, it fosters harmonious relationships and boosts work enthusiasm and satisfaction.
