KDDI and Lawson began a demonstration of new store DX (digital transformation) initiatives utilizing AI and robotics on November 8 at Lawson S KDDI Takanawa Head Office Store. Two types of robots have been introduced — one for detecting out-of-stock items and another for automatically restocking shelves — to verify efficiency improvements in store operations amid ongoing labor shortages.
The out-of-stock detection robot autonomously navigates inside the store, capturing shelf images with a 4K camera. Using image recognition AI, it reads price cards and package information to automatically identify product names, shelf layouts, and stock-out conditions. The system enables remote monitoring of shelf status and can also integrate with security camera data to optimize product placement based on customer movement patterns. In-store footage is subject to anonymization processing to protect privacy.
The restocking robot uses a Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model that combines camera images with verbal instructions to learn store operations in advance. It can automatically restock shelves even in sections with large product assortments, such as snacks and instant foods. Two types of manipulators are being tested — a two-finger gripper for basic picking actions and a five-finger hand capable of delicate tasks — to evaluate the characteristics of each operation. The robot also records removed items, allowing it to track inventory levels in the backroom.
Lawson has set a goal of reducing in-store operational workload by 30% by fiscal year 2030 through DX initiatives and other efficiency measures, and plans to expand the validation tests to additional stores in the future.
