• by Chuck Martin , April 26, 2019

Walmart has unveiled a store powered by artificial intelligence as its new Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL).

The Walmart Neighborhood Market in Levittown, N.Y., features AI-enabled cameras, interactive displays and a massive data center.

“We’ve got 50,000 square feet of real retail space,” states Mike Hanrahan, CEO of IRL.  “Technology enables us to understand so much more – in real time – about our business. When you combine all the information we’re gathering in IRL with Walmart’s 50-plus years of expertise in running stores, you can create really powerful experiences that improve the lives of both customers and associates.”

The store’s sensors, cameras and processors are all connected through cabling.

Walmart plans to use real-time information to increase efficiencies for store associates to know when to restock products on shelves.

The technology is intended to automatically detect the products on shelves, recognize the specific product and then compare the quantities on the shelf to upcoming sales demand.

The store contains small educational kiosks and two large displays that encourage participants to move around to learn how technology reacts to body positioning.

The focus of the AI store is to learn from the technology, according to Walmart.