The Zebra Mobile Computing AI Suite Makes Frontline Work Better for Everyone

Picture this: It’s a busy morning in a bustling retail store. Shelves need restocking, customers have questions, and associates juggle tasks to keep operations running smoothly. Meanwhile, in a warehouse across town, workers navigate aisle after aisle to locate products, prepare shipments, and reconcile inventory. At the same time, a driver is frantically trying to find the packages for their delivery in the back of their van to keep up with the delivery schedule.

These challenges that frontline workers face every day have become an accepted part of doing business. But what if they weren’t? What if there was a way to make these tasks faster, easier, and more accurate? What if technology could help workers spend less time on manual, repetitive tasks and more time on what really matters—helping customers, solving problems, and driving results?

That’s exactly the problem we set out to solve with our Mobile Computing AI Suite. I couldn’t be more excited to share how this innovation, including our Advanced Data Capture Software Development Kit (SDK), is going to change the game for frontline teams and the developers who support them. Then it will be approved for publishing. 

Frontline Challenges Deserve Smarter Solutions

Let’s face it: Frontline work has never been easy. Whether you’re stocking shelves, picking orders in a warehouse, or delivering packages, the job demands quick thinking, precision, and the ability to adapt on the fly. But too often, workers confront outdated processes and tools that simply can’t keep up with the pace of modern business.

Take retail, for example. Associates spend hours scanning shelves to find misplaced products, checking price labels for errors, or manually counting inventory. These necessary but time-consuming tasks pull associates away from customers that need their help.

In warehouses, workers face similar hurdles. Locating products in vast facilities, reconciling inventory discrepancies, or preparing shipments can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, especially when relying on paper-based processes.

And in transportation and logistics (T&L), workers need to increase their delivery efficiency by quickly locating packages and providing proof-of-delivery documentation to avoid extra administrative tasks.

The common thread? These tasks don’t have to be this hard with the tools available in the Zebra Mobile Computing AI Suite.

How the Zebra Mobile Computing AI Suite Changes Everything

Imagine giving your frontline workers tools that make their jobs easier and also empower them to work smarter and faster. That’s what the Mobile Computing AI Suite is all about. This toolkit is now accessible here, and it’s going to make a real difference for developers, businesses, and workers alike.

At its core, the SDK provides direct access to AI vision models that run on Zebra mobile computers, eliminating the high cost of cloud solutions and the substantial time and training resources required, such as hundreds of thousands of barcodes and images. These AI models are ready to tackle real-world challenges by simplifying the integration of AI vision in enterprise applications across a range of markets and industries.

These aren’t generic models that require months of customization and training. They’re purpose-built for enterprise applications and optimized for Zebra’s mobile devices. In plain terms, this means developers can integrate advanced AI capabilities into their apps without needing a PhD in machine learning or spending weeks gathering and labelling data.

Here’s what makes the SDK stand out:

• Barcode Localizer: Instantly detects and reads all 1D and 2D barcodes in an image and overlays bounding boxes around them in the image. This means faster inventory counts, misplaced item localization, and streamlined picking workflows.
• Text-OCR Recognizer: Reads and deciphers text from images with exceptional accuracy, supporting various fonts, sizes, orientations, and lighting conditions, ensuring reliable verification of price labels, promotional signage, and equipment details.
• Shelf and Product Localizer: Identifies products, price labels, peg labels, and shelf facings in a single image, helping retail associates ensure shelves are stocked, properly priced, and on the right shelf.
• Product Recognizer: Finds and recognizes retail products on shelves for a variety of use cases including finding a specific product to determining what products need restocking or recognizing and ringing up items at a Point of Sale (POS).
• Feature Extractor: An enabling capability for Product Recognizer that extracts and stores key features of a product, enabling product recognition.

And that’s just the start. The Zebra Mobile Computing AI Suite also includes Solution Accelerator sample applications and APIs that developers can use as building blocks, making it possible to create custom AI-powered apps in days instead of months.

Helping People Work Smarter, Not Harder

The best part about the Zebra Mobile Computing AI Suite isn’t what it can do. It’s what it allows people to do. Let me share a few examples to bring this to life.

In retail, imagine an associate who needs to verify that a shelf is stocked correctly. Instead of manually scanning each product or label, they simply snap a photo or capture the scene with a live video stream using their Zebra mobile device. In seconds, an AI-powered app identifies missing items, highlights price discrepancies, and provides clear guidance on what needs to be fixed. The associate spends less time scanning and more time helping customers.

 In warehouses, workers can use AI to transform their workflows. One of the sample applications in the AI suite lets workers snap a photo or start a video feed of a storage area and instantly see which barcodes require action – whether it’s restocking, relocating, or preparing items for shipment. This eliminates the need for tedious manual checks and keeps operations running smoothly.

In T&L, consider a driver responsible for precise deliveries. Rather than manually verifying each parcel, they use a Zebra mobile device to scan them. An AI-powered app quickly validates parcel details, provides real-time updates, and obtains a process compliant proof of delivery. This allows drivers to spend less time on manual checks and more time making efficient deliveries.

These are just a few of the ways the Zebra Mobile Computing AI Suite helps businesses achieve real-time insight, connected collaboration, and intelligent automation, the building blocks of more efficient, productive operations.

A Partner for Progress

At Zebra, we believe technology should make work better for everyone. That’s why we’re committed to creating solutions that solve problems and empower people to do their best work. The Zebra Mobile Computing AI Suite reflects that commitment. It’s more than a set of tools. It’s a way to help businesses unlock the potential of their frontline teams.

We know that adopting new technology can feel daunting, especially when resources are tight and the stakes are high. That’s why we’ve designed the components of the AI suite to be as accessible and user-friendly as possible. Whether you’re an independent software vendor, a developer, or a business leader, our goal is to make it easy for you to harness the power of AI and see results quickly.

Let’s Make Work Better, Together

The Zebra Mobile Computing AI Suite helps businesses thrive in an ever-changing world by giving workers the tools they need to succeed. If you’re ready to explore what’s possible with AI on the frontline, we invite you to visit the developer portal where you can access the SDK and sample apps.