New Robotic Holiday Window Displays Created By Bloomingdale’s

New York City’s large department stores are know to pull out all the stops when it comes to holiday window displays, especially Macy’s, Bergdorf Goodman, and Saks. Bloomingdale’s has gone the extra mile this year, adding a new element to their displays beside the usual Christmas cheer.

Bloomingdale’s window this year will include 12 of ABB, a Swiss-Swedish  Automation Company’s robots in three of there displays. In addition to the 12 window robots,  ABB’s dual-armed cobot YuMi will be serving coffee throughout the store, using Nespresso machines
While still maintaining the festive spirit, the window displays help emphasize the subtler tasks these robot can tackle. One of Bloomingdale’s windows contain a large Christmas tree with two floor and ceiling mounted IRB 120s adorning it with gold ornaments. Once the tree is fully decorated, they remove them all, ready to start over again. They’re able to accomplish this task better than most humans, without breaking a single bulb.

The second window highlights a band of 4 IRB 1200 robots performing classic Christmas songs using shakers, tambourines and a xylophone. Finally the third window was made in partnership with andyRobot, a robot animator. It displays three IRB 120s each holding a special patented Robot-controlled Video Display created by andyRobot called a RoboScreen. With six-axis motion, the RoboScreens are able to construct synchronized or individual images that bounce from screen to screen, all while providing customers with a fun holiday karaoke experience.

According to ABB’s Global Head of Service Robotics, Marc Segura, robotics could be the next big thing for retail stores. Using robotics, stores could “to create innovative mediums to interact with customers, demonstrate products and engage at the point-of-sale with far more appeal and relevance than traditional static point-of-sale displays.”

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