The News

• Mobile commerce startup Robomart announced yesterday that is is being granted a U.S. patent (No. 11227270) for its store hailing and checkout-free technology.

• Currently operating in Los Angeles, Robomart outfits human-driven vans with mini-stores filled with snacks, sundries and other goods. Customers use the Robomart to hail the mobile store to their home or current location, grab what they want and get charged automatically.

• Robomart opened up its technology to third-party retailers in the Los Angeles area last September.

The Story

OK. I realize that it might be a little bit of a cheat to cover Robomart in this publication since technically, their mobile stores are driven around by humans (which customers are not supposed to interact with). But Robomart’s plan is to eventually make its vans self-driving once the regulatory environment allows for that. Having a patent for its technology helps Robomart defend its early position.