ITRI and 7-Eleven have collaborated to build “X-STORE 7,” a 24-hour unmanned convenience store using AIoT technologies. Situated on ITRI’s headquarters, X-STORE 7 integrates ITRI’s Grab & Go System Service that includes smart shelves and a variety of AI sensors, creating a business model conducive to rapid scale-up.
Dr. Pang-An Ting, General Director of ITRI’s Information and Communications Research Laboratories, said, “We integrated smart shelves with AI technologies such as weight sensors, infrared-light curtain, ID confirmation, and customer positioning technologies to fully grasp consumer preferences and digitalize store management.” He added that this “not only aids businesses in streamlining operations and addresses labor allocation challenges, but also caters to the shopping needs of remote and under-resourced areas.”
7-Eleven highlighted that X-STORE 7 is the first unmanned convenience store in Taiwan to operate independently without the need for assistance from an adjacent store. The smart shelves and ledger system allow for efficient inventory monitoring, sales tracking, and identification of customer hotspots, with just one remote worker managing these tasks in real time. Customers can simply display a QR code from the 7-Eleven app to enter, pick up or return items without the need for baskets or carts, and finalize purchases at a dedicated checkout area before exiting.
Compared to existing cashier-less stores which mainly rely on capital-intensive computer vision, the X-STORE 7’s sensor-driven approach significantly reduces computation complexity and camera-related costs, creating a business model favorable to rapid expansion and deployment.
