Hongqi Chain terminates robot unmanned vending system R&D; robot retail largely remains at proof-of-concept stage

After 16 months of R&D, Hongqi Chain terminated its robot unmanned vending system project. The announcement said the system has not yet met the standard for large-scale commercial deployment, and the company is shifting to a 24-hour cloud-attended operation. The company previously disclosed issues including a high robotic-arm grasping failure rate, vision recognition affected by lighting, and insufficient obstacle avoidance and communication stability. Industry insiders said condensation on glass-bottled cold drinks in summer causes the robot to grip them unsteadily and drop and shatter them. A QuantumBit ROBO visit found that most retail robots only handle mobile picking, requiring staff on duty for restocking and charging. Industry insiders believe robot retail is still at the PoC stage and that replacing store staff will take another two to five years.