California-based autonomous technology company Brain Corp has unveiled the BrainOS InventoryAI suite to provide retail inventory analytics on data captured by autonomous mobile robots running on its platform.

It also unveiled the Dane Air purpose-built inventory scanning robot developed in collaboration with Minnesota-based Dane Technologies.

Most retailers manually track in-store inventory by deploying associates to identify inconsistencies among tens of thousands of SKUs, looking for issues with product availability, price tags and product locations. Automating this process with robots and AI can help food retailers save by reducing losses from out-of-stocks and pricing discrepancies, which costs retailers more than 6% of their total sales.

Designed for fully autonomous operation, the Dane Air ensures precise collection of inventory data in dynamic and public store environments while empowering associates by allowing them to redirect their focus to other tasks.

The BrainOS robot uses sensors and includes shelf vision and RFID technology for inventory capture. It can navigate through store aisles and includes intelligent rerouting for scanning around store activities.

Operation is fully autonomous with automated docking and charging. Cloud-based smart route generation optimises scanning efficiency. A lithium-ion battery provides up to 12 hours of extended scanning operation. And it includes wifi and LTE connectivity for seamless communications.

Dane Air is poised to deliver outstanding RoI to retailers worldwide, addressing both outdated data collection processes and the pressing challenges stemming from labour shortages in the industry,” said Dan Johnson, CEO of Dane Technologies. “We know that effective inventory management drives profitability. The Dane Air’s capacity to cost effectively automate inventory data collection and provide precise, actionable insights on demand, delivers a significant margin optimisation opportunity for the industry.”

The BrainOS InventoryAI suite is an adaptable, AI-powered, inventory analytics offering empowering retailers to capture and leverage in-store data according to their needs. This approach lets retailers seamlessly integrate intelligence into their operations, leveraging the power of AI to identify and address critical issues including out-of-stock items, price tag errors, promotional compliance issues, misplaced products and stock counts using RFID.

“Our mission is straightforward: we help retailers put the right product on the right shelf at the right price,” said David Pinn, CEO of Brain Corp. “This simple value proposition drives operational improvements, cost reductions, sales uplift and an elevated customer experience. It equips retailers with a competitive edge in today’s dynamic retail environment.”

Brain Corp (www.braincorp.com) specialises in robotic AI software that powers autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) operating in commercial public spaces. The technology powers more than 30,000 AMRs.

Dane Technologies (www.dane-air.com) was founded in 1996 to help retailers address the safety and productivity difficulties of manual shopping cart retrieval and management. It has grown from that single product to serve clients in retail, industrial, distribution, transportation and healthcare around the world.