The robot does take breaks. When Tally senses it’s low on power, it finds its way to a charging dock. And, the robot is designed to stay out of the way of customers. If it detects a congested area, it’ll return to the aisle when it’s less busy. If a shopper approaches the robot, it’s programmed to stop moving.

Simbe also uses fleet management tools to monitor its robots to detect if the robot has been picked up or moved. “We know if someone has bumped into the robot,” Bogolea said. A Simbe representative will be on-site at Schnucks stores during the pilot phase.

The data Tally collects may prove useful to those studying retail analytics. Schnuck Markets and Simbe have had preliminary talks with officials at Washington University about having students study the collected data.

“Robots have the ability to gather information about what goes on in an environment,” said Aaron Bobick, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University, who studies human-robot collaboration. “And business is all about converting data into intelligence.”