NAVii: Revolutionizing Retail with Robotics

Yeban Shin, George Lee, Koh Jing Ting's Award-Winning Design

NAVii stands out with its unique properties and capabilities. It autonomously navigates around retail spaces, communicating with customers to lead them to items in the store. Additionally, it aids store employees in managing shelf inventory by providing up-to-date stock information. This smart robot, with its rounded edges and clean silhouettes, embodies a friendly and inviting design.

The design process of NAVii involved a series of mock-ups and iterations, including sketching, quick renders, and 3D printing. The materials for NAVii were sourced from China, and the manufacturing, assembly, and testing took place in San Jose, California. The robot measures 18 inches in width, 27 inches in length, and 60 inches in height, and weighs 200 lbs.

NAVii's interaction with customers is seamless and user-friendly. When it senses a customer approaching, it raises its screen to an ergonomic height and greets the customer. Customers can verbally ask or type in their search request, and NAVii will lead them to the item's location. Once the item has been located, NAVii will ask if further assistance is needed. If not, it continues roaming the retail space.

The design project, which started and finished in Silicon Valley, California, in 2015, involved extensive research. The team spent a significant amount of time understanding clients' wants and needs, interviewing and observing users to understand their habits, needs, and wants. The insights gained from this research were instrumental in creating quick and dirty prototypes and eventually building the robots.

Despite the challenges faced during the design process, including the complexity of the robot and the need for seamless collaboration between the Design, Software, and Hardware teams, NAVii was successfully brought to life. It was also met with some social resistance due to fears of job displacement. However, a deeper understanding of the product reveals that NAVii aids associates in the store, freeing up their time for more complex tasks and saving them significant amounts of time.

NAVii's innovative design and impact on the retail industry have not gone unnoticed. It was awarded the Golden A' Robotics, Automaton and Automation Design Award in 2016, a testament to its outstanding design and trendsetting creation. NAVii is indeed a marvel of design and technology, significantly impacting the world with its desirable characteristics.