Sony’s AI Sensing Platform Expands With Retail Partnerships
Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS) has continued momentum for its edge AI sensing platform, Aitrios, in partnership with retail and logistics players, including convenience, pharmacy and logistics solution providers.
Aitrios debuted at NRF Big Show 2023 as a solution that enables retailers to visualize the physical world of brick-and-mortar digitally, providing them with AI insights to solve for problems such as on-shelf availability, planogram compliance, staffing shortages and optimize areas like merchandising and store operations.
In the year since Aitrios was unveiled, SSS says it has furthered its commitment toward democratizing vision-based edge AI to make the technology more accessible across industries.
Recent initiatives with partners include:
- Lawson (convenience store chain): Shelf-monitoring system utilizes Aitrios to streamline the time required for employees to monitor shelf inventory manually and reduce loss of sales opportunities.
- Village Vanguard (books and goods chain): With a signage solution, supported by Aitrios vision AI, Village Vanguard investigates viewership of promotional videos and advertising on in-store screens by tracking time spent by individuals in front of the signage to support improvement towards more-engaging and preferred content.
- NEC (IT solution provider): An Aitrios-based solution visualizes vacant shelf space in warehouse operations. By combining Aitrios with known schedules of incoming and outgoing cargo shipments, Aitrios recommends suitable shelf space, which helps to improve the time needed to offload and store items.
- MITSUI-SOKO (supply chain solution): Aitrios helps MITSUI-SOKO's systems reduce idle time for drivers and supports improved work hours for warehouse employees by automating the acquisition of berth usage by trucks and optimizing workflows.
"The Aitrios platform is designed to democratize vision-based edge AI and enables retailers the ability to tailor their entire store operation and scale it across their business, all on a single platform," Eita Yanagisawa, senior general manager of system solution business division, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, said in the release. "Sony is also accelerating its initiatives with more partners around the world and is extremely excited to see a variety of projects and solutions that are nearly ready for retailers' front and back-of-house use."
SSS will be onsite at the NRF’s 2024 Big Show Jan. 14-16 in New York, with some of its partners including Microsoft and Lawson to showcase the solution.
