From car showroom to your store
Katapult Asia builds AI.RA, an AI service-robot platform for physical retail. AI.RA greets shoppers, understands what they need, recommends products, and guides them to the right shelf – then hands over to your sales team for the close. The platform runs on ROS2 and every unit is built to order from our facility in Kuala Lumpur.
Built and tested with Perodua
Our first MVP was built and tested at the Perodua Sentral showroom in Petaling Jaya, working with real showroom scenarios: welcoming visitors, answering questions, and guiding customers towards the right model for their needs and budget.
Our second MVP – the Enhanced Design – was showcased at KLIMS 2026 (Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show, MITEC) at Perodua’s pavilion, where the robot is known as HAWA, as part of Perodua’s Smart Mobility showcase.
Read the posts on LinkedIn:
- HAWA live at KLIMS 2026
- Meet HAWA at the Perodua pavilion
- The journey from HAWA to AI.RA, meeting customers at NICE2026
How AI.RA can help you
Demonstrated on the platform, honestly stated:
- General conversation with shoppers and visitors
- Product recommendation based on needs, preferences and budget
- Camera-based detection of customers approaching
AI.RA is not yet deployed in live retail. The 3 AI-generated scenarios above are the possible roles of AIRA in car showroom, electronics product and sportswear stores. The call for pilots below are how we prove the rest – with partners, in real stores.
Our pilot direction: retail and electronics retail
We are opening pilot collaborations with retail and electronics retail stores. A pilot puts one AI.RA unit in your store for a fixed period, working alongside your team:
- Greet customers and start the conversation
- Understand intended use, preferences and budget
- Recommend relevant products and explain the options
- Guide customers to the right products or displays
- Connect them with a sales advisor to close
For customers: a welcoming experience and a clearer shortlist. For sales teams: less time on repetitive introductory questions, more time on expert advice and closing.
In development for pilot scope: customer-detection and footfall features, context-based promotion and advertising on the robot’s display, and POS/ERP integration for live stock checks. These are in development and are agreed per pilot – they are not claimed as finished features.
The same platform now extends to in-store product sampling and real-time customer feedback: the robot hosts the sampling point, captures what shoppers think at the moment of taste, and reports every shift in hours instead of weeks.
Pilot with us
If you run retail or electronics retail stores and want to explore a pilot, we would like to hear from you. Leave us a message through our email at inquiry@katapultasia.org and we will arrange a conversation.
Katapult Asia Sdn Bhd – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Transforming your idea to market.
