双语 | 无人超市,niubility!
7月8日,在杭州的淘宝“造物节”上,马云的第一家无人超市“淘咖啡”开业。酷炫的“黑科技”吸足了眼球,不少人怀着好奇心体验了一把神奇的“剁手”感觉。
阿里巴巴的“淘咖啡”无人零售店
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=x052327hoh3&width=500&height=375&auto=0
现场解说视频
The unstaffed retail shop of Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group recently officially opened in its hometown of Hangzhou.
近日,中国互联网巨头阿里巴巴集团的无人零售店在总部所在地杭州正式亮相。
This unmanned retail shop named Taocafe officially opened July 8, chinanews.com reported .
据中国新闻网报道,这家无人零售店名为“淘咖啡”,于7月8日正式亮相。
On that day, Alibaba chief executive Zhang Yong visited Taocafe and showed how to shop there. Customers first need to open their Taobao app on mobile phones, and then scan the QR code to enter the shop, whereupon they may dispense with their phones.
当天,阿里巴巴CEO张勇来到淘咖啡,并演示了如何在淘咖啡购买商品。客人首先需要打开手机上的淘宝app,然后扫描二维码进店,通过后就不再需要手机。
Zhang ordered a matcha (green tea) ice-cream cone and exited the premises via a payment door whose system automatically debited his account to conclude payment in mere seconds.
张勇选购了一个抹茶冰淇淋甜筒,然后从支付门走出商店,支付门的系统在几秒内便自动登记了张勇的账户,并完成了支付。
That same day, however, Zhang denied rumors Alibaba will open Taocafes at multiple locations, saying its initial purpose is to serve those hoping to run a cafe by helping them easily establish a smart cafe, rather than Alibaba running such establishments itself.
但当天张勇否认阿里巴巴会在其他地方开设淘咖啡,张勇表示,他们的出发点是希望服务所有想开咖啡店的人,让他很容易开一个智慧的咖啡店,而不是阿里巴巴自己开一个。
The services Alibaba offers to such shops consists of standard technologies such as digital and technological platforms, payment, accounts, facial recognition and voice interaction technologies, he said.
张勇称,阿里巴巴为这些商店提供的服务包括数字和技术平台、支付、账号、人脸识别、语音交互等基本技术。
“We should keep an open mind with unstaffed retail shops,” Zheng Gang, the director of the Zhejiang University Technology Venture Program, told chinanews.com. “Whether these shops can become popular depends on whether they offer what we need, rather than the presence of staff.”
“我们应该对无人零售店持开放态度,”浙大科技创业中心主任郑刚告诉中国新闻网记者,“能不能推广的关键不是有没有人,而是店里有没有我们需要的东西。”
Nevertheless, Zheng holds the opinion that as labor costs in China are cheap, robot shops are not a necessary market focus.
尽管如此,郑刚认为,由于中国劳动力成本较低,无人商店还不能算处于风口中。
不过,“无人超市”这个概念并非阿里巴巴率先提出。美国的亚马逊、瑞典的Wheelys、中国的缤果盒子等都已经在阿里巴巴之前进行了尝试。
亚马逊的Amazon Go无人便利店
2016年,美国零售巨头亚马逊曾推出过无人便利店AmazonGo,但仍局限在亚马逊西雅图总部供员工测试使用,不对外开放↓
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=f0354jqyycx&width=500&height=375&auto=0
Amazon showed off its automated Go grocery store concept at the end of last year.
去年年底,亚马逊向世人展示了其无人零售店Amazon Go的销售概念。
The company said shoppers at its Amazon Go store will have the cost of their purchases automatically billed to their Amazon Prime account. Sensors will track customers as they go about the store and record items they pick up.
亚马逊称,Amazon Go可以从顾客的亚马逊金牌账户中自动扣除购物花费。顾客在店内走动时,传感器可以对其进行跟踪,并记录客人取走的商品。
Amazon employees can shop at the first store near the company’s headquarters in Seattle.A public opening was scheduled for early 2017. Leaked internal documents suggest Amazon could open 2,000 of the stores across the country, but a few months later postponed any actual shop openings.
亚马逊的第一家无人商店位于西雅图的亚马逊总部附近,公司员工可以在那里购买商品。无人商店原计划于2017年初对公众开放,公司内部泄露的文件显示,亚马逊可能会在全美开设2000家商店,但几个月后,所有实体商店均推迟开业。
宾果科技的“缤果盒子”无人便利店
就在亚马逊“未来超市梦”仍局限在员工内部时,中国的缤果盒子抢先让“无人超市”走上了街头↓
One Chinese startup, however, is steaming ahead with its own version – and has already opened a handful of staffless convenience stores where customers open the door and pay the bill with their phone.
一家中国初创公司正在迅速发展自己的无人超市。这家公司已经开设了几家无人便利店,顾客通过手机进入商店并结账。
This is a typical Bingobox store. Last month, the startup opened its first outlet in Shanghai after a few months of testing in its home city, Zhongshan, in southern China.
这是一个典型的缤果盒子便利店。该初创公司总部位于中国南部城市中山,在中山试运行几个月后,今年6月份,上海第一家缤果盒子诞生。
A shopper opens the door – and registers with the startup – through WeChat, the popular messaging app.
顾客打开店门,使用时下流行的聊天app“微信”进行注册。
Although small, the Bingobox store stocks hundreds of items – including a small selection of fresh foods.
尽管店面不大,缤果盒子仍提供了上百种货品,其中还包括一些精选的生鲜食品。
The customer has to scan each item’s barcode.
消费者需扫描每个货品的条形码。
And then pay on their phone, either via WeChat or Alibaba’s mobile wallet app, Alipay.
然后通过手机支付,可以用微信,也可以用阿里巴巴旗下的移动支付app支付宝。
As you leave the store, a camera checks you’re taking out only the stuff you paid for.
离店时,摄像头会查验你带走的都是付过款的货品。
GIF由Tech in Aisa制作,来源:缤果盒子视频
In-store cameras use facial recognition to check for unregistered users who shouldn’t be on the premises.
店内摄像头会通过人脸识别技术检查不应出现在店内的未注册用户。
Tech in Aisa截图自缤果盒子视频
While each store is unmanned, a human customer support line is available via video link.
店内没有营业员,可通过视频专线连接人工客服。
Each Bingobox store is mobile, so the franchise owner can put it where they like.
缤果盒子商店是可移动的,经销商可以把店面安排到他们喜欢的地方。
A human staffer is needed for stock-taking and refilling purposes – which the startup claims can be done in just 20 minutes.
店内需要一名工作人员盘货和补货,该初创公司称,这个工作可在20分钟内完成。
The startup is trying to woo franchise owners with the promise that only four staffers are needed to run 40 stores.
该初创公司正在招募经销商,承诺只需4名员工即可运营40家店面。
The startup has already partnered with French supermarket giant Auchan – which is huge in China – to handle store inventory.
该公司已和法国超市巨头欧尚展开合作,后者在中国有巨大影响力,将负责缤果盒子的货物供应。
What the startup has created is not quite as slick as Amazon Go, however. Jeff Bezos’ US$450 billion giant wants shoppers at its Go stores to be able to walk out without scanning or physically paying – instead, its computer vision and sensor tech will know what you’ve decided to take and will simply bill your Amazon account automatically shortly after you’ve left the shop.
缤果盒子和亚马逊的无人便利店并不相同。杰夫·贝佐斯投入4500亿美元希望顾客能够无需扫码或支付,直接离开无人便利店,店内的计算机视觉和传感技术将知道顾客购买了哪些物品,并在顾客离店不久后,将账单自动关联至其亚马逊账户。
Still, the prevalence of both WeChat and Alipay in China means that consumers are ready for stores like Bingobox. The question now is whether the tech is good enough to keep an eye on us mischievous humans.
不过,微信和支付宝在中国大行其道,这意味着消费者已经为缤果盒子这样的无人便利店做好了准备。现在的问题是,科技是否已经足够好到可以监控坏人。
Wheelys的Moby-Mart流动超市
瑞典公司Wheelys打造的Moby-Mart无人超市甚至在上海推出了“无人驾驶”超市的黑科技,能让超市“移动”到顾客的身边,未来感十足↓
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=m0514zwcx4e&width=500&height=375&auto=0
Retail startup Wheelys has designed a prototype self-driving supermarket that navigates to different locations throughout the day and uses artificially intelligent holograms to help customers.
零售业初创公司Wheelys打造了一款“无人驾驶”试验超市,可以全天候导航至不同的地点,借助人工智能全息影像为消费者服务。
The autonomous vehicle is designed to be almost completely self sufficient, relying on software that tracks its inventory and alerts the Moby-Mart when it's time to restock.
这款无人驾驶运载工具的设计几乎完全可以满足自给,靠软件来追踪存货情况,当货物需要补充时,这款名叫Moby-Mart的流动超市便会发出警告。
It runs from an electrical engine, powered by solar panels placed on the roof – which is also home to four drones, available to deliver larger items to nearby customers.
它由屋顶上的太阳能电池板供电,靠电机驱动,同时还装载着四架无人机,用来给附近的消费者递送大件物品。
Wheelys is currently collaborating with the Hefei Technical University in China to incorporate self-driving technology, although the store's ability to drive itself is also dependent on countries developing laws that allow autonomous vehicles on the roads.
目前,Wheelys公司正与中国合肥工业大学合作,希望并入这项无人驾驶技术,尽管这款商店的自驾能力还有赖于国家是否会出台相关的法律,允许自动驾驶车辆在道路上行驶。
With this in place, the Moby-Mart could drive to areas where it is in-demand, and take itself back to the warehouse to pick up new stock. Currently it can be driven in-person or controlled remotely.
如果这些条件都具备的话,Moby-Mart就可以开到有需要的地方,然后自己开回仓库装上新的存货。目前,它可以自主驾驶或远程操控。
Wheelys has also created a hologram store assistant, powered by artificial intelligence, which can keep a note of shopping habits and make recipe recommendations.
Wheelys还设置了人工智能全息影像商店助手,能记录消费者的购物习惯,并提出食谱建议。
These virtual attendants would use the cloud to form a network that tracks worldwide behaviour, and allows Moby-Marts to tailor products to specific areas. It also means stores can remain open around the clock, without having to rely on human staff.
这些虚拟的服务员借助云技术形成一个网络,可以追踪到全世界其他同伴的行为,从而使这些流动超市可以为特定地区适配商品。这也意味着,这些商店可以全天候开放,完全无需依赖人工店员。
"Mobile stores are much more efficient than physical ones," co-founder Per Cromwell told Dezeen. "Mobile stores can serve business areas during the day and residential areas during evenings and weekends. They can also serve the countryside or vacation areas in a smarter way."
“流动商店比实体店更有效率。”Wheelys联合创始人Per Cromwell在接受Dezeen采访时称。“流动商店可以在白天服务于商务区,晚上和周末服务于住宅区。对于乡村或度假胜地来说,这种方式也更加便捷。”
All purchases would be made through an app, meaning queues are eliminated, and customers would be required to be members – which Wheelys believes will eliminate the risk of theft.
商店里所有的商品都是通过app购买,这样就无需排队。同时,顾客还需要加入会员,Wheelys认为这种办法可以消除偷窃的风险。
Wheelys was set up in 2014, and initially focused on selling all-in-one coffee stands – which received over €350,000 of support on crowdfunding site FundedByMe within the first 18 hours of launch. In 2016 the company also acquired Näraffär – a system of staff-free stores that opened in Sweden in the same year.
Wheelys公司成立于2014年,最初专注于销售一体咖啡车,这款商品推出18小时之内,就在FundedByMe众筹网站上筹得逾35万欧元(约合人民币271万元)资金。2016年,这家公司还收购了一系列Näraffär无人商店,这些无人商店于同年在瑞典营业。
The Moby-Mart is currently being beta tested in Shanghai, but Wheelys hopes to start deploying units in 2018, expecting them to cost around $100,000 (£78,000).
目前,Moby-Mart流动超市正在上海试运行,但Wheelys公司希望于2018年开始推行,预计成本将达10万美元(约合人民币680万元)左右。
好了,了解了这么多,文中提到的三家在国内运营无人超市,你更想体验哪一家?
英文来源:The Guardian, Dezeen, Tech In Asia, Yicai Global等
编译:Janet, Yoyo, Lyla
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