{"id":694120,"date":"2026-07-16T03:26:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T03:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/694120\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T03:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T03:26:16","slug":"tesco-trials-aisle-roaming-robots-to-check-stock-on-shelves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/694120\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesco trials aisle-roaming robots to check stock on shelves"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tesco<\/p>\n

Tesco<\/a> is trialling an aisle-roaming robot that uses AI<\/a> and computer vision to independently traverse store aisles and scan the placement, price<\/a> and availability<\/a> of stock on shelves.<\/p>\n

The supermarket<\/a> is currently testing Simbe Robotics\u2019 Tally robot at a single store, but plans to extend it to a small number of other stores.<\/p>\n

Tesco said the robots help spot gaps on shelves, so staff can better boost availability.<\/p>\n

According to the robot\u2019s maker, Tally typical detects 10 times more out-of-stocks compared with manual audits.<\/p>\n

A photo of the Tally robot was posted on Reddit by user jsm97, who commented that \u201cnobody went within 5ft of it and kept giving it side-eye\u201d.<\/p>\n

The trial follows a similar one launched last year by Morrisons<\/a>. Morrisons put Tallys to work in its Wetherby, Redcar and Stockton stores to \u201ccheck that the products on the shelves are being displayed correctly and are legally compliant\u201d, it told The Grocer.<\/p>\n

Morrisons was the first UK retailer to test the Simbe robots when it rolled them out in April last year. The supermarket ultimately went for an alternate approach<\/a>,\u00a0installing more than 200,000 tiny, shelf-edge, AI-powered availability cameras, in partnership with Focal Systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Simbe introduced Tally a decade ago, and the robots are now found in 10 countries, working for retailers including Carrefour<\/a>, BJ\u2019s, Albertsons, ShopRite and Kroger.<\/p>\n

In those 10 years, Tallys have logged 4.7 million autonomous working hours, captured 44.8 billion shelf photos and travelled 1.8 million kilometres, the equivalent of circling the globe 45 times.<\/p>\n

The robots have detected 600 million shelf gaps, scanned 18 billion price tags and identified more than 80 million promotion errors.<\/p>\n

In January, Simbe announced the launch of the latest version of Tally\u00a0\u2013 Tally 4.0 \u2013 which boasts \u201cmajor advancements in runtime, vision, sensing, and edge AI\u201d enabling retailers to \u201cturn every shelf into a real-time source of ground truth\u201d.<\/p>\n

The robots can handle up to 12 hours of runtime (before self-docking to a charging port when needed), ultra-high-resolution cameras, an expanded field of vision, and a full-stack NVIDIA AI infrastructure platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cTally 4.0 captures more of the store, more often, and delivers insights into what\u2019s in stock, how it\u2019s priced, and where it\u2019s placed faster than ever before,\u201d said Jeff Gee, Simbe co-founder and chief design officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the robot is faster, sharper, and more capable, its design has stood the test of time. Tally 4.0 stays true to the principle that has guided us since day one: technology<\/a> should serve people,\u201d Gee added.<\/p>\n

\"tesco<\/p>\n

Tally is not the only robot to be found in Tesco aisles. Last month, the supermarket rolled out autonomous cleaning robots to 600 Tesco Express stores. Project partner ICE (Industrial Cleaning Equipment) claimed it to be \u201cthe very first rollout of this scale in the UK convenience<\/a> sector\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we are showing how data-driven automation can work hand in hand with retail teams to improve cleaning standards,\u201d said Mark Bresnihan, CEO at ICE.<\/p>\n

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