Walmart to end contract with company providing robots to scan shelves

Walmart is ending its contract with the robotics company that provided shelf-scanning machines to stores. 

The retail giant is ending its contract with Bossa Nova Robotics and plans to replace the machines with human workers. The company provided robots to over 500 stores when the contract ended, according to Walmart. 

"We will continue testing new technologies and investing in our own processes and apps to best understand and track our inventory and help move products to our shelves as quickly as we can," Walmart said. 

Walmart first announced the use of shelf-scanning robots in 2017, aiming to replenish inventory faster and save employees time when products run out.

Robots with other functions, such as floor cleaning and inventory unloading, will remain in Walmart locations, according to the publication. It is still unclear why Walmart ended its partnership with the robotics company. 

It's not uncommon for Americans to come across robots roaming the aisles of their favorite stores or around their community. 

Last year, Amazon introduced Scout, a cooler-sized automated delivery robot that rolls around sidewalks and transports shipments to homes. 

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The news comes as Walmart experiences a surge in sales across the country. 

Online sales for the retail giant nearly doubled in the fiscal second quarter. Sales at U.S. locations opened at least a year jumped 9.3%.

The company also said it is hiring 20,000 seasonal workers for its eCommerce fulfillment centers including order fillers and power equipment operators.

Follow Coral Murphy on Twitter @CoralMerfi