If customers are still curious – or nervous – “Barney” the robot (named after Kroger founder Bernard “Barney” Kroger) has a small note of introduction affixed to him instead of a name ...

A number of the pilots are dubbed “Barney,” which wears a name tag and sign claiming it’s used for shelf scanning to ensure no products are missing and the correct pricing is shown.

Barney is based on the classic PBS children’s series Barney & Friends, which ran for 14 seasons from 1989-2010. While Barney & Friends was targeted primarily at toddlers, Kaluuya — who has ...