Walmart slammed for robot parking lot security guard
Customers have slammed Walmart for its use of a robot security guard. A shopper known as Goldpinemusic on TikTok recently posted a video of the machine roaming around a Walmart parking lot.
The TikToker joked about the security robot keeping the rough Walmart streets safe and asked the guard what its name was. The machine answered her question by stating it did not have a name yet.
Walmart's robot security guards began appearing at select stores in 2018. This led a commenter on the video to accuse the retailer of 'doing everything but paying workers.' 'Yeah they laid off the human security guy,' another commenter responded. 'Waste of money. They need more cashiers and less self checkout,' another person wrote.
Walmart has implemented various technological measures to modernize its stores, including secret codes on select products and new AI technology in Sam's Club . Walmart began using robots deployed by Bossa Nova Robotics in 2015 to make sure shelves were fully stocked, accurately priced, and labeled.
The robots were tested in a handful of stores in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and California. The tests proved to be a success, and by 2017, the robots were used in 50 stores. The shelf-scanning robots made their way to at least 1,000 locations in 2020, and by then, Walmart had begun adding security robots to select stores.
Multiple states began implementing what's known as 'Lot Cops' in parking lots. The robot security guards are mobile, solar-powered security systems used to film illegal actions. 'Well, I thought it's the police, you know? Now they really can see what you're doing out here, really,' Hawaii resident Lynn Tavares told KHON2 in 2018.
Alabama residents expressed their support for the security guard robots while speaking with FOX 54 , because of higher chances of crime crackdowns. Besides robot security guards, some Walmart stores have implemented self-checkout tools to decrease the chances of card skimming . The company has also found unique ways to lower Walmart crime rates, which includes anti-theft packaging in meat aisles .
Walmart is also busy working on its $9 billion makeover for 1,400 stores . About $1.6 billion of the investment was used for 650 US locations , which is all part of the chain's 'Stores of the Future' initiative. But the retailer is also facing some backlash for raising its prices as a result of tariffs . Current workers have leaked photos showing the cost of select items had risen 80 percent . DailyMail.com has reached out to Walmart for comment about its robot parking lot security guards.
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