Dec 15, 2016PRESS RELEASE:
RFID inventory robot TORY by German robotics company MetraLabs GmbH celebrates his first jubilee at German fashion retail company Adler Modemärkte AG's store in Erfurt. TORY is the first RFID inventory robot worldwide which is actually used in practice. It takes stock via RFID with a superior read accuracy of 99%. Furthermore, TORY can serve as a shopping assistant as well, guiding customers to the products they are looking for and advising them on making their purchases.
TORY is one of the most advanced mobile service robots available today. Thanks to MetraLabs' proprietary navigation software, TORY is able to move completely autonomously and can even avoid unexpected obstacles. Furthermore, the robot has a superior battery life of 12 up to 18 hours and a maximum recharging time of four hours. Combined with the high availability, these features guarantee a quick ROI, as MetraLabs promises.
Roland Leitz, General Manager and Head of IT at Adler Modemärkte AG, has accompanied the launch of the robot at ADLER from the beginning: "We are very satisfied with the results. TORY takes stock at ADLER autonomously, dependably and even more frequently than the store staff in the market would be able to afford. As a result, we were able to optimize the availability of merchandise in the store as well as the order processes." Since its first working day on 1 December 2015, TORY has driven approx. 400 km and scanned more than 5 million items. The average reading accuracy has been above 99,5 %. Over the course of the year, ADLER already put more TORYs in operation in other stores, e.g. in Haibach, Rüsselsheim, Mutterstadt and Limburg, Germany.
The store's employees appreciate TORY's support. "Inventory has always been rather irritating work. The robot is a good tool and supplement for work" confirms Heidi Scheeder, employee at the ADLER store in Erfurt, talking to German TV station MDR (you can find the whole report in German here).
The work environment will change a lot in the future due to new technologies. It is still uncertain what Working 4.0 will be like. However, TORY gives us a good example of how the cooperation between humans and machines can succeed. The robot does not replace the personnel but relieves them from time-consuming and less productive work. As a result, the staff members have more time for serving their customers better. Hence, it is possible to realize efficient work sharing between humans and machine.
