In Europe there are around 80 million people with a mild to severe disability, which prevents them from taking part fully in society. Worldwide, about 1 billion people experience some form of disability. The EU and its Member States have a strong mandate to improve the social and economic situation of people with disabilities. These individuals face significant mobility constraints in their daily routines. An example of such routine difficulties that disabled individuals face is when they go shopping, as pushing a cart/trolley can be a huge challenge, especially when filled with merchandise. Retail shops lose out on significant amount of revenue by ignoring the needs of people with reduced mobility. In 2016, the combined spending power of the disabled community in the UK was reported to be £249 billion. Over 60% of purchases are made during the “shopping experience” – when the customer feels comfortable in the shopping area. Shops fail to capitalise on this market segment due to inaccessibility, which creates a negative feeling for shoppers with disabilities by limiting their comfort and independence.
The WiiGO system is an autonomous and self-driven robotic system that follows a specific user or else can be programmed to move independently on a pre-planned or self-automated route. WiiGO uses the latest technology on image recognition, machine learning and artificial intelligence that allows for it to track users autonomously, while identifying and avoiding any obstacle along the way. WiiGO can be adapted for different applications such as for retail shops, logistics and as a general autonomous concierge. WiiGO has a comprehensive set of features which allow it to enhance the shopping experience by helping customers navigate the store more effectively. It has the capacity to guide consumers to the location of products they seek and record information along its path, supporting users in their activities of daily life, while helping retailers to cover some of the more tedious and time consuming tasks of their operations such as stock-checking.
