About the project
Autonomous Cabinets is an autonomous, small-format retail solution designed for hyper-proximity use cases, similar to a vending machine. It targets consumers who want a fast, convenient buying experience with dematerialised payments, while enabling item detection and identification using the same base technology as the autonomous store, adapted to a smaller footprint.
Project at a glance
Focus — Autonomous hyper-proximity retail cabinets with dematerialised payments and computer-vision-based item detection
Key demonstrators
- Multi-iteration cabinet prototypes
- Industrial production line
- Cabinet calibration software
- Fast App stock visibility and planogram management
- Check-in terminal UI/UX updates
- Pre-authorisation payments (Shift4)
- 5G cabinet demo (NOS)
Operation — Autonomous cabinet format with QR code and contactless Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminal, remote terminal management, and deployment across multiple locations
Primary pilot locations — Galp Allo (Galp office); Avenidas and Brisa (Portugal); Neo Corner (France); DAO (Italy)
Objectives
- Provide an autonomous cabinet shopping experience with dematerialised payments
- Adapt the autonomous store's item detection and identification technology to a smaller cabinet format
- Improve usability, safety, and maintenance through iterative prototyping and industrialisation
- Enable efficient operations with real-time stock visibility, replenishment guidance, and planogram updates via Fast App
- Increase scalability through remote terminal configuration and deployment tooling
- Reduce equipment cost and simplify assembly through fewer cameras, shelf cost reduction, and a simplified processing unit
Delivered
- Design and iteration of five cabinet prototypes, incorporating a technical drawer for maintenance, enhanced locking mechanisms, external QR code reader integration, consolidation of QR code and contactless PoS terminal capabilities, and reduced camera count while maintaining performance
- Assembly line planned and implemented in Q1 2024, with an initial production series launched after validating technical, technological and functional requirements
- Additional quality, safety and monitoring measures for production, plus new metrics for production tracking and stock control
- Cabinet calibration software developed to reduce calibration time and support assembly
- Pilot deployment at Galp Allo offices from early 2023, including beta testing and launch of Fast App on Android and iOS with real-time stock visibility, replenishment quantities and planogram updates
- 70+ cabinets deployed across Portugal (Avenidas, Brisa), France (Totem) and Italy (DAO)
- UI/UX improvements to the check-in terminal for Pod and cabinet, plus remote configuration per client (access, tokens, fonts, colours, logos)
- Pre-authorisation payment solution developed with Shift4 to validate payment methods and pre-hold a client-defined amount
Key metrics
- 70+ cabinets deployed across Portugal (Avenidas, Brisa), France (Totem) and Italy (DAO)
- Pilot launched at Galp Allo office — early 2023
Summary
Autonomous Cabinets brings autonomous retail to a compact, hyper-proximity format with dematerialised payments and item detection adapted from the autonomous store. The work includes multiple prototype iterations, an industrial assembly line and calibration tooling, and real-world pilots that drove operational improvements.
Deployments expanded beyond office pilots to more than 70 cabinets across locations in Portugal, France and Italy, supported by Fast App stock management and remote terminal configuration, plus pre-authorisation payments with Shift4.
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