Automated vending inventory management apparatuses and method

A vending apparatus for facilitating sale of products in a retail environment, comprising:

• a wall with a plurality of holes drilled through it at predetermined intervals;
• one or more storage containers configured to store a plurality of products;
• a robot comprising at least one of a camera or a sensor;
• a delivery opening configured to provide a product to the user;
• a housing substantially enclosing the wall, one or more storage containers, and robot;
• and
• a user interface device configured to facilitate payment by a consumer for a product stored within a storage container within the vending apparatus,
• wherein the one or more storage containers are marked with one or more indicia readable by the at least one camera or sensor associated with the robot.

A method for managing inventory within a vending apparatus, comprising:

• placing one or more storage containers containing a predetermined number of one or more types of items for sale within the vending apparatus;
• configuring one or more indicia associated with each of the one or more storage containers readable by a camera or sensor associated with a robot;
• determining an initial position of the predetermined number of items for sale within each of the one or more storage containers;
• associating the determined initial positions with the configured indicia associated with each of the one or more storage containers;
• reading, by the camera or sensor associated with the robot, each of the configured indicia associated with each of the one or more storage containers;
• determining, by the camera or sensor associated with the robot, an updated position of the items for sale within each of the one or more storage containers;
• and
• transmitting information relating to the vending apparatus to a remote server.