Aldi is planning to trial upgrades to its traffic light system at store entrances aimed at helping shoppers with hearing or sight impairments.
The traffic lights, which are currently being rolled out to all Aldi’s UK stores, are gaining audio and visual prompt features.
It will enable them to give verbal instructions to customers queuing outside stores, while a visual display unit will give a waiting time.
The lights were first introduced to Aldi stores in May to aid social distancing. The lights turn from red to green when the next customer can enter, and control the number inside based on the store’s capacity and social distancing guidelines.
The automatic doors only open when the lights are green and the technology is fully automated, removing the need for staff to manage entrances.
Ocucon, the UK technology company that developed the traffic lights, said other major retailers were planning to follow Aldi in deploying them.
“Covid-19 gave us the impetus to work collaboratively and innovatively to develop a solution in record time,” said Ocucon founder and CEO Gary Trotter.
“From concept to delivery it took less than three weeks. We continue to work closely with Aldi and other customers to ensure that the system is responsive to customer needs and can adapt to the changing world we are operating in. We will continue to incorporate new features, like the two new accessibility functions as the system becomes more widely used.”
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