Walmart is partnering with Ford to explore delivery with autonomous vehicle technology through a pilot programme in Florida.
 
“We’re still learning,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president for Walmart. “It’s a pilot, but, we want to make sure we stay on the cutting edge of grocery delivery by exploring what’s new and next.”
 
Walmart is already offering grocery delivery in nearly 100 metro areas and is continuing to innovate to find new ways to serve customers. For example, it recently held a small pilot project with Waymo to start exploring how customers will want to use self-driving cars when it comes to their grocery shopping.
 
“For a Walmart customer who has just started using grocery pickup, it might seem like shopping can’t get much easier – just order online, pull up to a parking space, and wait for an associate to load the items,” said Ward. “Easy. Retail is changing at a rapid pace, and what’s easy in 2018 might feel old-fashioned in 2028.”
 
The pilot programme with Ford is taking place in Miami-Dade County. Through it, the retail giant aims to learn more about how it can take advantage of self-driving vehicles to deliver fresh groceries – hand-picked by personal shoppers – to customers. In Miami, Postmates is the delivery company and is already connected to Ford’s digital platform.
 
“Walmart and Ford agree autonomous vehicles have an important role to play as we consider the future of delivery,” said Ward. “Before self-driving cars can go mainstream, we must get a better sense of how people want to interact with them. Together, we will gather crucial data to learn the best way to bring items to customers. There’s no telling what innovation the future will bring, but Walmart is committed to staying on the forefront of change to make getting groceries simple, quick and easy.”
 
• Brain, a San Diego-based software technology company, is providing AI-based floor cleaners to Walmart.
 
Brain's Brain OS platform currently automates more than a hundred of Walmart's fleet of commercial floor scrubbers across the USA. Brain OS provides the machines with autonomous navigation and data collection capabilities, all tied into a cloud-based reporting system. Walmart expects to have 360 Brain OS-powered machines in stores by the end of January 2019.
 
The floor scrubbers let store associates quickly map a route during an initial training ride and then activate autonomous floor cleaning with the press of a single button. The robot uses multiple sensors to scan its surroundings for people and obstacles, providing safety and performance.
 
"We're excited to work with Brain in supporting our retail operations and providing our associates with a safe and reliable technology," said John Crecelius, Walmart's VP of central operations. "Brain OS is a powerful tool in helping our associates complete repetitive tasks so they can focus on other tasks within role and spend more time serving customers."
 
Brain OS is a proprietary operating system that integrates with off-the-shelf hardware and cloud technology to provide a cost-effective brain for robots. It has computer vision and AI libraries that enable quick and efficient development of smart systems that learn and adapt to people and complex environments. Its navigation stack provides self-driving capabilities for cluttered and dynamic indoor environments.
 
"We are thrilled to partner with Walmart to enhance customer experience at its retail locations," said Eugene Izhikevich, CEO of Brain. "Brain OS technology allows robots to effectively and safely function in complex, crowded environments, ensuring increased productivity and efficiency across applications. We look forward to continuing to work alongside Walmart to help build intelligent, connected stores."