LAS VEGAS-A group of California entrepreneurs have invented a robot to program phones in the retail environment.
“With only brief training, a nontechnical retail employee can program any phone in three minutes or less, without mistakes,” according to Activator Systems Inc. of Tustin, Calif.
The phone is placed in a cradle, into which all phones fit, the company said. A cover is placed over the cradle. A personal computer using proprietary software directs two microrobotic “fingers” that operate from an XYZ axis to push buttons on the keypad. The system is noninvasive to the phone and authentication can be programmed “in the blind,” said spokesman David Smith.
Production now is beginning in a California factory; delivery is expected to begin in April.
National figures show cellular programming time ranges from 15 minutes to eight hours, with an error rate of 25 percent to 30 percent or more, said Steven Maurath, Activator president and chief executive officer.
The programming module is the first step to problem solving, said Maurath. “The next phase is an Activator work station that will offer automatic programming and activations along with management reports for both retailer and carrier, including demographic studies, marketing reports, buyer response and more. It can operate stand-alone or through gateway technology with the carrier,” Maurath said.
