Seven-Eleven Japan and robotics company Telexistence are teaming up to develop a humanoid robot designed to work in convenience stores. The robot, called Astra, is being built with generative AI and is expected to start appearing in stores by 2029.
Astra is being developed to take over routine tasks in stores, such as stocking shelves and handling basic operations, helping to ease the pressure caused by staff shortages and rising labor costs. The idea is to let human employees focus on tasks that require more direct interaction with customers.
The robot will use what’s known as a Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model, which allows it to understand its surroundings, process instructions, and perform tasks in a physical environment. Telexistence and Seven-Eleven plan to test and fine-tune Astra in real stores as part of the development process.
A big part of the project involves collecting real-world data to train the robot’s AI. Telexistence already uses a robot called Ghost for restocking drinks, and that system will now help gather even more data from Seven-Eleven’s network of over 20,000 stores across Japan.
The companies are also working with researchers and industry groups, including universities and Toyota, to support the development and rollout of the technology. The long-term goal is to bring humanoid robots into everyday store environments, starting with basic support roles and expanding from there.
