Beijing-based Megvii will provide its AI technologies to storage solution provider Store Friendly in Singapore,  allowing customers to drop off and pick up personal belongings without the need to communicate with human clerks, according to a Megvii’s press release.

Megvii has tailor-made a set of AI automated storage solutions forStore Friendly, leveraging on the company’sInternet of Things (IoT) operational system Hetu and facial recognition platform.

Hong Kong-headquartered Store Friendly has been operating in Singapore for more than one year, allowing residents to store their personal belongings, such as suitcases, documents, and other items temporarily in the firm’s mini-warehouses around the city-state.

With this solution, Store Friendly can increase the usage rate of its storage space by twice, Megvii claimed, while reducing personnel by 80%.

“In the past, nine employees were needed to maintain the operation of one mini-warehouses, but now, only one is left to ensure the security or torespond in case a human helper is needed by a client,an unnamed employee of Store Friendly said in the press release. 

The move marks the first global expansion for Megvii, which facial recognition technologies have been used in smartphones by Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo.

This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.