Hidden within a three-storied office building in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas is AT&T Foundry, a startup lab brimming with prototypes and equipment.
Walking through the center, you get feeling that the AT&T Foundry has one of everything. On the first floor of the building is a vertically-focused showroom. The first thing you notice there is an ABB robot that can deftly put “tchotchkes in a box,” as Craig Lee, the director of the lab puts it. From there, the boxes whiz down an IoT-enabled assembly line and onto a nearby trailer.
Not far away is a replica of a retail environment, replete with large bags of potato chips. If you walk up and remove three bags, a counter display retallies how many are left on the shelf. “If you are the brand owner responsible for replenishment, there is quite a bit of value in more accurately mapping where you are going,” Lee said.
