One business who realized that using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning is a business need, no longer a competitive advantage is PepsiCo. From robots to machine learning, PepsiCo uses AI and machine learning throughout the organization in many ways.
There’s a six-wheeled mobile vending machine robot tooling around the University of the Pacific chockful of PepsiCo snacks and beverages from Hello Goodness—a healthier line-up that includes SunChips, Baked Lay’s and bubly sparkling water. Named Snackbot, these self-driving robots are a partnership between Robby Technologies and PepsiCo. Students can order their snacks from the Snackbot app, and then the robot will deliver it to more than 50 spots across the campus without charging a delivery fee.
The Frito-Lay (a subsidiary of PepsiCo) manufacturing plant is benefiting from machine learning. One project uses lasers to hit chips and then listen to the sounds coming off the chip to determine texture. Algorithms process the sound and determine the chip texture to automate the quality check for Frito-Lay’s chip processing systems.
Another project still in development would assess the “percent peel” of a potato after it had gone through the peeling process. By understanding this data, it can help the Frito-Lay team to optimize the potato peeling system. This project alone is estimated to save the company more than $1 million a year just in the United States.
