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We’ve all seen the automated Amazon stores where there are no staff manning the tills. Well now you can experience the same at Hive 2.0, at Esplanade Xchange. Owned by Stellar Lifestyle, a business arm of SMRT, Hive 2.0 is a 3,200 sqft showcase of the future of high-tech retail concepts and hosts 10 retail experiences focusing on automation, robotics, and digital retail services. Tony Heng, President of Stellar Lifestyle, said: Hive by Stellar Lifestyle continues to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by introducing and validating innovations. This year, Hive 2.0 will leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and connected networks to help our merchant partners become more operationally resilient. For example, located at the entrance is 7-Eleven’s first self-checkout store in Singapore where commuters can tap their credit card to enter. The store uses cameras, deep learning and multi-sensor fusion technologies like weight sensors, and AI to monitor what a customer removes from the shelves and then charges the credit card that was swiped to enter the store for their purchase. Another store that relies heavily on automation is Mr. R Robotics, a retail store, serving frozen, chilled, and ambient products, using a robotic arm to deliver them to customers. This is Mr. R Robotics first retail store, with the company used refurbished containers at its previous locations. Javis is a fully automated bubble tea store that can brew freshly made bubble tea tailored to customers’ preferences. Office workers located at South Beach Tower will soon see their last-mile fulfilment carried out by autonomous robots from QuikBot. Workers can order drinks and snacks from the Esplanade MRT station’s 7-Eleven from the Quikbot app, after which autonomous robots will transport these orders directly to their office floors, self-navigating along common corridors as they move between Esplanade MRT and South Beach Tower. To help office workers keep fit is The Gym Pod. This on-demand fully-private gym is on-hand to help customers hit their fitness goals. Customers can also hire private trainer services via the Gym Pod app. Other stores in Hive 2.0 include a IncuBaker, a co-working kitchen workspace and NOYES, a fully automated nano-warehousing storage solution to support re-stocking and self-collection. The tenants will access the viability of their business concepts at Hive 2.0 before making any decision on expanding the concept to other locations managed by Stellar Lifestyle.