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Lowe’s Home Improvement Adds Robots To Its Sales Team

Sept. 7, 2016

Your next home improvement expert? It could be a robot.

Combing the aisles of those big box stores in search of whatever you need can be a major time suck. Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse is attempting to address the problem with a new robot worker that will help direct customers to the right aisle.

The LoweBot, to be tested in 11 Bay Area stores, was first released at CES in 2015, and is billed as an autonomous shopping assistant. This latest incarnation has the capacity to understand different languages and includes a touchpad interface to help customers locate a particular wrench or type of flooring quickly without having to hunt down a sales associate or turn to a smartphone app.

The LoweBot, made by Fellow Robots, uses 3D scanning technology to detect people when they walk into a store, and home improvement shoppers can search for items either by asking the robot about a particular item or by typing their request into the touch screen. The robot is also being used to help sales associates with inventory and other basic store tasks.

About the Author

Beth Stackpole, contributing writer | Contributing Editor, Automation World

Beth Stackpole is a veteran journalist covering the intersection of business and technology, from the early days of personal computing to the modern era of digital transformation. As a contributing editor to Automation World, Beth's coverage traverses a range of industries and technologies, including AI/machine learning, analytics, automation hardware and software, cloud, security, edge computing, and supply chain. In addition to her high-tech and business journalism work, Beth writes an array of custom editorial content and thought leadership pieces.