Cellid Inc. announced that it has joined forces with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (SMBC Group, CEO, Tatsu Nakajima), and Seven-Eleven Japan Co. (Seven Eleven, President and Representative Director, Tomohiro Akutsu) to launch a demonstration experiment using AR glasses for in-store shopping and this pilot test starts this week. This demonstration will utilize Cellid's independently developed Reference Design AR glasses prototype to offer a new shopping experience for employees at 7-Eleven stores located in the East Wing of SMBC Group's offices.
The test will assess several key AR-powered functions necessary for in-store purchases, including customer identification, product recognition and payment processing. The purchasing experience will be verified step by step, adding advanced features such as "product recommendation display" and "product display shelf guidance", which are unique to AR technology. Since November 2023, Cellid, in collaboration with SMBC Group, has been exploring the possibility of next-generation services utilizing AR glasses.
This demonstration experiment represents a major step in those efforts, accelerating the use of AR glasses to enhance the purchasing experience. It aims to deliver an intuitive and seamless experience by superimposing digital information onto the real world through AR glasses. The test will evaluate how this technology can enhance everyday convenience and transform consumer purchasing behavior.
In addition, it will assess the practicality and potential of new services that leverage the unique capabilities of AR technology. Cellid's core business is the development of displays for AR glasses and spatial recognition engines. In particular, Cellid boasts the industry's most advanced technology in the development and design of the world's largest, widest field of view and lightest weight waveguide, and was the first to successfully develop technology capable of projecting full-color images made of plastic.
In preparation for the increasing use of AR glasses in the near future, the company is accelerating its collaboration with partner and user companies, and this demonstration experiment is a part of these efforts.
