Lowe’s is introducing the OSHbot robotic shopping assistants next month, the first retail robot of its kind in the U.S., writes Tech Times (Oct. 30, 2014). The OSHbot will greet customers, ask if they need help and guide them through the store to the product. Besides natural-language-processing technology, the 5-foot tall white robot houses two large rectangular screens—front and back—for video conferences with a store expert and to display in-store specials. The head features a 3-D scanner to help customers identify items. OSHbot speaks English and Spanish, but other languages will be added. OSHbot is “solving a big problem,” says a Lowe’s executive. “It is a way to bring more shopping convenience and some of the benefits of e-commerce into a physical store.”

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