VusionGroup, the global leader in digitalisation solutions for commerce, today announced the opening of its EdgeSense Connected Store Platform to AI applications and generative models, marking a major step toward bridging the digital and physical dimensions of commerce.
With this evolution, EdgeSense AI transforms thousands of connected stores into AI-native environments, where shelves, associates, and shoppers can interact through real-time spatial intelligence and conversational understanding.
By merging 3D locationing, computer vision, and natural language models, EdgeSense AI enables physical environments to sense, interpret, and respond dynamically to people and products — unlocking a new era of sensor-fused, GenAI-enhanced retail.
From connected stores to AI-native spaces
VusionGroup pioneered the digital transformation of retail with Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs), bringing automation, pricing accuracy, and connectivity to the shelf edge. But ESLs were just the beginning. EdgeSense AI builds on this foundation, evolving the shelf from a passive display into an intelligent, interactive node in a living data network. What began as digital pricing infrastructure has now become a spatially aware platform capable of powering real-time AI experiences across the store.
E-commerce reinvented how people search; EdgeSense AI now redefines how they move, discover, and decide in real-world spaces. Through shelf-level sensing, edge computing, and AI-driven dialogue, stores can understand and anticipate needs in real time. A shopper can ask, “Where’s my favorite pasta?” and instantly receive personalized guidance to its exact shelf, discover related recipes, or unlock personalized offers.
“With EdgeSense AI, we are making the physical world natively intelligent,” said Roy Horgan, SEVP strategy, marketing & communications at VusionGroup. “For years, AI has lived in the cloud. Today, it’s becoming spatial, embodied, and present — capable of understanding the context of every interaction inside the store.”
Why only EdgeSense can make it real
What makes this transformation possible — and unique to VusionGroup — is the living digital infrastructure that EdgeSense already provides at scale. Across more than 18 million connected rails and tens of millions digital shelf nodes already active in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific, EdgeSense forms the largest real-time spatial data network in retail — a constantly sensing and learning grid that connects every shelf, product, and interaction in 3D.
EdgeSense turns the store into a digital twin of itself — a spatially aware data environment where every shelf-edge node acts as a sensor and signal, continuously updating the store’s “live map.” This map becomes the context layer that Generative AI models, autonomous agents, and AI wearables need to understand and interact intelligently with the physical world.
EdgeSense is not a hardware system, but a real-time data platform — the missing link that connects the physical and digital worlds of retail. It gives AI models the ability to see, locate, and understand space with precision, enabling them to act and communicate in context.
Now with EdgeSense AI, VusionGroup is making this data and infrastructure available through APIs and developer partnerships — enabling new layers of contextual, generative, and ambient intelligence inside the physical world.
“EdgeSense gives AI the real-world context it’s been missing,” said Andreas Rössl, Group CTO of VusionGroup. “LLMs, smart glasses, and autonomous agents all need to understand where things are and what’s happening around them. EdgeSense provides that layer — a precise, living data grid for the physical world.”
As the era of AI wearables emerges — from smart glasses to ambient assistants and spatial computing devices — EdgeSense provides the geo-intelligence layer these technologies require to function meaningfully in the physical world. Just as GPS enabled smartphones to navigate and understand digital maps, EdgeSense provides the 3D spatial awareness and live data signals that enable AI-driven agents to operate inside physical environments.
For retailers, this represents the foundation of the AI-native store — where every object and interaction is part of a living, connected data ecosystem. Retailers that embrace this transformation will lead the way in delivering hyper-connected, intelligent experiences – where operations, engagement and personalization converge seamlessly.
A shared vision: making the world conversational
By combining EdgeSense’s spatial intelligence with Generative AI, VusionGroup envisions a future where any environment — not just stores — can become responsive and interactive. The company is opening collaborations for pilot projects with retailers, AI partners, research institutions, and smart device manufacturers starting Q4 2025.
