The meaningful application: How automation is cultivating a more responsible future

Vending

Automation innovations on display at NAMA 2025 demonstrate a growing trend toward responsible, ethical and sustainable solutions for diverse industries.

Photo: Networld Media Group

May 13, 2025 by Sandra Carpenter — Editor, Networld Media Group

Tech on display at the National Automatic Merchandising Association show this year pointed to a significant shift in the world of automation. The focus transcended mere efficiency and profit, highlighting a growing dedication to responsible, ethical and sustainable practices. The technologies on display suggested a future where automation actively contributes to a better world, from robots easing healthcare burdens to AI tackling our recycling challenges.

The drive toward more responsible automation is manifesting in some truly interesting technologies. Let’s take a closer look at a few standout examples from NAMA, starting with how smart machines are tackling real-world challenges and offering more sustainable, ethical solutions.

Ottonomy Ottobot

The Ottonomy Ottobot exemplified this trend. This autonomous delivery robot is engineered to navigate intricate indoor and outdoor settings, with implications extending beyond simple deliveries. «Nurses walk almost 15,000 steps a day to do non clinical work. There’s a huge labor shortage across the entire industry, so automating that is what the robot does,» Salil Dokey, business strategy and growth lead, Ottonomy, told Vending Times. This underscores an important ethical aspect of automation: alleviating human workload and allowing skilled professionals to concentrate on tasks requiring their unique abilities and empathy.

Ottonomy’s information indicates that many retail and restaurant businesses currently face significant labor shortages coupled with rising wage costs. Their fully autonomous delivery robots offer a way for these organizations to mitigate staffing issues and achieve more cost-effective delivery solutions. Available through a «Robotics as a Service» model, Ottonomy provides businesses with a faster, safer and more economical delivery option compared to traditional third-party services. The unique behavior-based contextual navigation technology enables precise mapping, allowing their robots to navigate safely in crowded environments, both during the day and night, indoors and outdoors, reaching desired locations reliably. By handling routine delivery tasks, Ottobots not only enhance efficiency but also support a more sustainable operational model by potentially decreasing dependence on conventional delivery methods that often produce significant emissions.

Oscar Sort Smart Recycling Assistant

Another notable innovation addressing a crucial sustainability issue was the Oscar Sort Smart Recycling Assistant. «In the US alone, there’s over 8,000 different recycling guidelines or rules,» Alex Rector, enterprise account executive at Intuitive AI, told Vending Times. «And, unfortunately, the reality is that vendors are changing packaging constantly,» perfectly illustrating the confusion that frequently leads to incorrect recycling practices. Oscar offers a technological solution to minimize this human error.

Oscar’s mission is to create a zero-waste world by focusing on the sorting process when disposing of items. This AI platform aims to not only create healthier buildings but also to empower a zero-waste future. Their vision is to use artificial intelligence for good, driven by sensors that enable spaces to become more sustainable by automating the often inaccurate manual process of waste sorting, thereby reducing landfill and ocean waste. Importantly, Oscar prioritizes user privacy, focusing solely on the disposed items and not on identifying individuals.

Mr. Turtle household liquid refill station

Mr. Turtle’s refill station presented a practical and user-friendly method for decreasing plastic consumption. The founder, Benjamin Arts, who initiated the venture at Cal Poly a year and a half prior, recognized the inconvenience of existing manual refill systems. «You have to put it on a scale, and then you have to come over and hand pump, and then you have to put it back on the scale, write down how much you want, bring it over to be read,» Arts told Vending Times. Mr. Turtle simplifies this process, making refilling a convenient and appealing alternative to buying new plastic containers.

The economic and environmental advantages are evident. As Arts pointed out, «If you go to the store right now and buy a jug of detergent, for example a jug of Tide, 30% of the cost is the plastic package itself, so you are quite literally paying for plastic.» By choosing to refill, consumers not only contribute to «plastic saving . . . but also money saving.» Refilling is presented as a straightforward way to purchase products without generating waste, reusing existing containers and positively impacting the environment with each purchase.

Venhub Smart Stores

VenHub showcased an intriguing combination of automation and retail, described by Shahan Ohanessian, VenHub CEO, as «a vending machine and a retail store having a genius baby.» Primarily operating in Los Angeles, VenHub is presented as an innovative solution in the retail sector, offering fully autonomous and robot-operated convenience stores.

Utilizing advanced technologies such as AI and smart inventory management, VenHub aims to provide a seamless shopping experience for customers. These stores operate continuously, generating revenue while lowering operational costs compared to traditional retail locations. The modular design allows for easy installation and customization to meet diverse consumer needs, allowing VenHub to offer an efficient and accessible shopping experience.

Alberts nutrition vending machine

The Alberts nutrition vending machine offered a glimpse into the future of personalized and sustainable nutrition. The inception, sparked by a disappointing smoothie experience in the U.S., drove the mission to address the inaccessibility of healthy food. Alberts combines technology and expertise to create simple solutions for convenient healthy food options.

The process is streamlined and designed to minimize waste: customers select a pre-designed blend or create their own using a mobile app. The machine then precisely measures the ingredients, optimizing nutrient retention and preventing food waste. By blending with only pure, hot water, the smoothies and soups maintain their natural flavor and nutrients. Convenience is further enhanced by the machine’s automated cleaning system after each order.

Kupa Station

Photo: Networld Media Group

Finally, Kupa Station is focused on revolutionizing hydration with a modern, eco-conscious hydration station based in Quebec. The mission prioritizes the health of individuals and the planet, supporting suppliers who share the its values. They offer purified water customized with options like electrolytes and natural flavors derived from real fruits and plants, all developed with health in mind.

Kupa aims to establish a high-quality, eco-responsible source of hydration as the preferred choice for daily drinking, thereby contributing to a reduction in the use of single-use plastic bottles.

Automation for good

The innovations presented at this year’s NAMA show offer a compelling vision of a future where automation is not solely about efficiency but actively contributes to a more responsible, ethical and sustainable world. From alleviating burdens on healthcare professionals to addressing the complexities of recycling and reducing our dependence on single-use plastics, these technologies illustrate the power of human ingenuity to develop solutions that benefit both people and the planet.

As these automated solutions continue to advance and integrate into our lives, the potential for positive impact is substantial, paving the way for a future where convenience and conscience are intrinsically linked.

About Sandra Carpenter

Sandra is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. She has been working in editorial and research roles for over a decade and has experience in print, blog, social media and peer-reviewed publications.

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