Oct 14, 2017

New drone technology will help retail warehouses

Haley Britzky

Employees work at the Amazon Fulfillment center. Photo: Julio Cortez / AP

A drone from MIT used to read radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags could "save retailers billions lost through faulty inventory records," according to the Digital Journal.

Why it matters: Inventory reviews conducted by humans with hand-held RFID scanners can take weeks, given the massive size of some warehouses. The drones are able to identify tags "from tens of meters away," beating out humans in speed and accuracy, the Journal reports.

It can save retailers money, as well. The U.S. National Retail Federation reported that loss of retail items "averaged around $45.2 billion annually," but the drones will play a large step in reducing the problem.

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