China’s self-driving supermarket

(CHINA)

A self-driving supermarket – open around the clock – is being trialled in China.

The Moby Mart, developed by Wheelys Inc, in cooperation with Hefei University and Himalafy, takes convenience to another level. Customers use an app to find the closest one, open the store with a phone, scan items with it and leave.

“By using AI, patented inventions, and the famous cloud, the Moby turns technology invisible. It’s the simplest shopping ever,” a Moby Mart blog explains. “Running on electricity and equipped with solar panels the Moby is also the most environmentally friendly store on the market. The Moby Mart is not science fiction. It’s currently Beta Tested in Shanghai and was launched Tuesday the 13th of June.”

Per Cromwell,  CTO Wheelys added: “In the coming decades, retail as we know it will disappear. Stores will become powered by apps, they will become accessible 24/7, and they will become mobile.

“Our dream is an entire fleet of self-driving staffless stores, killing the malls, and reviving the countryside and our inner cities.”