With insight from Don Gunn, Embedded systems / SOMs / AI edge processing specialist, and Sevin Samadi, Image Sensors Specialist.
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When faced with the question: “What is the relationship between automated PoS systems and other automated machinery that make industry 4.0 possible?” our panelists dove into the dynamic synergy that exists between these technologies, as well as the world of possibilities that’s ahead.
Through this question, we aimed to explore the interaction and overlap between technologies and find out ways to maximize each while enhancing opportunities for businesses.
Seamless interactions with customers
Don Gunn guided us through a picture where a customer arrives to, for example, a restaurant and interacts with a PoS screen to place their order. The order triggers a reaction in the kitchen, where cobots efficiently handle packaging and delivery, giving customers an automated experience from start to finish.
This example of fully automated service may sound futuristic, but if you think about it, it’s parallel to what happens in an automated industrial setting, where an employee triggers an action from a HMI (Human Machine Interface), resulting in cobots performing tasks on the background efficiently.
This technological dance is possible thanks to smooth communication between the PoS system (or the HMI) and the robot controllers, relying on technologies like Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth, or other connectivity solutions depending on needs (but more on this later).
Beyond interactivity
Sevin Samadi, our Image Sensor Specialist, highlighted how the integration of automated PoS machinery can not only improve customers interactions, but overall boos business operations.
Thanks to the digital nature of these systems, processes like inventory restocking and production scheduling become easily streamlined and optimizable. This shifts the role of automated PoS from an isolated gadget to a holistic tool to maximize business operational efficiency.
The technological overlap
As seen before, there’s a lot of overlap between technologies that make automated PoS systems and industrial automation possible. Don Gunn helped us highlight the possibility of leveraging the common technologies, such as processors and communication interfaces for both ends of the system.
The shared technological foundation opens possibilities for innovation and business opportunities. Companies can streamline development efforts, capitalizing on existing infrastructure for ultimate cost-effectiveness.
Ultimately, industry 4.0 aims to streamline operations and achieve ultimate efficiency. Automated PoS aims to do that as well as enhance customer experiences. How can the two sectors work in synergy to leverage their benefits and unlock their full potential?
Before we move on to our second article in the series, Evolution of Displays in PoS Systems, do you have any automation projects you’d like to take to the next level?
Send us an email and contact our experts at Future Electronics to get personalized engineering support for all your applications.
