ARLINGTON, VA — The next call you hear for cleanup in aisle three at your neighborhood Giant Food Store could be made by Marty the robot. About 500 models will be deployed this year to every Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia location to work alongside employees.

All 172 Giant grocery stores will have "Marty," a tall gray robot with googly eyes, to work alongside staffers. The robots, which move around the store unassisted, will identify and report hazards such as spills for quick cleanup. Giant officials said in a news release that the robots' efforts free up associates to spend more time serving with customers. "Bringing robotics and A.I. from a research lab to the sales floor has been a very exciting journey, and we were thrilled by the customer response in our pilot stores," said Nicholas Bertram, president, GIANT Food Stores, in a press release. "Our associates have worked hard to bring this innovation to life with amazing partners."

The robotic help is the result of a partnership between Ahold Delhaize USA services company Retail Business Services, Giant, and Jabil subsidiary Badger Technologies. Over the past year, the grocery chain has been testing Marty and the in-store robotic program in its stores located in Harrisburg and Carlisle, Pennsylvania. "As part of our continued focus on technology transformation, we're pleased to support one of the most significant deployments of robotics innovation in the grocery retail industry," said Paul Scorza, EVP and Chief Information Officer for Retail Business Services. "Several companies in the grocery retail space have recently begun testing or using in-store robots – something Retail Business Services and the local brands we serve have been doing for some time. We're pleased to support the Giant/Martin's and Stop & Shop brands as they now lead the industry from test to large-scale usage of robots and to see the benefits the technology continues to drive for their businesses."

The grocery chain has 59 stores in Virginia, including locations in Alexandria, Arlington, Ashburn, Dale City, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Herndon, Leesburg, Manassas, McLean, Reston, Springfield and Vienna. (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)