Successful Chinese AI Startup YI Tunnel Steals the Show in Dubai

BEIJING, October 30, 2018 (Newswire.com) - YI Tunnel is already a very successful AI startup in China’s retail industry. Its success attracted the attention of Etisalat, a leading telecom operator in the Middle East, which invited it to GITEX Tech Week 2018. Taking place in Dubai during October 14-18, this is the largest and most influential IT exhibition in the Middle East.    

Retail solution providers invited to showcase their future retail technologies also include two time-honored companies Datalogic and PTC and two startups Robomart and Shelfie.

Specifically, YI Tunnel brought three AI retail solutions to the event: the first is an unmanned store, which is based on computer vision technology and is much cheaper than that of Amazon Go; the second is an AI cooler or AI vending machine, which is powered by the computer vision technology too with a cost of only 40% of that of a traditional automatic vending machine; and the third is an AI checkout robot, the first one in the world, for automatic checkout.

The unmanned store from YI Tunnel was a highlight at the show.  A customer just needs to scan their face to open it. They can take anything they want from the shelf. If they don’t like it, they can just put it back on the shelf, but not having to be on where it originally is. Upon leaving, their payment will be made automatically.   

YI Tunnel’s system is significantly different from systems of other AI companies. It uses vision recognition technology. But it doesn’t use RFID tags or weight sensors. This makes it easier for rapid expansion.

YI Tunnel’s AI cooler adopts an algorithm based on the Convolutional Neural Network. It uses 2 cameras for dynamic recognition. This AI cooler provides a real “take and go” experience. You can scan the QR code on the cooler’s door or scan your face to open the door. After that, you can pick up any item you want, and when you close the door, you will be charged automatically.

YI Tunnel’s AI checkout machine was another highlight at the event. If you are a customer, you just need to put your purchases on the counter to check out automatically. You don’t need to look for barcodes. There is no need to make a distinction between grocery items that are prepackaged and those that are not either. The prices will be displayed on the screen, and you can pay for your purchases using a mobile payment method, of course, automatically.

The event in Dubai provided an opportunity for YI Tunnel to showcase its three AI retail solutions to customers in the Middle East. The best thing about them is their ability to collect and analyze data. Based on data analysis, retailers can provide a personalized shopping experience for their customers and empower store operation with business intelligence for smart supply chain management and smart shelf management, etc.

All the three AI solutions of YI Tunnel have been put into use in China successfully by partnering with leading retailers. For example, in cooperation with KUPU, the core brand of CCOOP, a public company of China’s Hainan Airlines, YI Tunnel created the world’s first pure vision-based unmanned store not long ago in China.

As an AI startup, YI Tunnel is also a favorite of VCs in China. In 2017, the company completed two rounds of fundraising in just three months, to get millions of dollars as investments from VC firms including Baidu Ventures, Fengshion, and Kinzon Capital. YI Tunnel was the most eye-catching dark horse last year in the AI-based new retail industry.

Source: YI Tunnel