Need

YPF, the Seeker for this Innocentive Challenge, is seeking mature, pilot-ready autonomous or intelligent systems to enhance customer experience, operational efficiency, and safety at its Full-Black convenience store in Nordelta, Argentina.

The challenge requires that each proposed solution addresses one of the following tracks: in-store service assistant, autonomous security monitoring, or service quality monitoring.

Collaboration Opportunity

This is a Scouting Challenge seeking a partner or supplier to provide systems and expertise to solve YPF’s business challenge; the Solver is invited to submit a written proposal to be evaluated by YPF with the goal of establishing a collaborative partnership, including running a pilot followed by scaling opportunities.

Each selected solution will receive a $20,000 USD monetary award, which must be used for pilot execution. Selected Solvers may be invited to collaborate with YPF in a pilot project and explore future commercial agreements and scaling opportunities. More than one solution may be selected for pilot implementation, depending on the quality and alignment with the challenge objectives.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on August 14, 2026.

Please review the later Participation Guidance section before submitting a proposal.

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Seeker/Eligibility

YPF is a leading energy company operating one of the largest networks of service stations and convenience stores in Argentina, with a strong focus on digital transformation and operational excellence.

The challenge is open internationally to technology companies, startups, robotics developers, AI solution providers, integrators, universities, and research centers with proven capabilities in autonomous systems, robotics, computer vision, artificial intelligence, smart monitoring, human-machine interaction, or service automation. Solvers must be able to support pilot deployment in Argentina.

Challenge

Background:

YPF’s Full-Black store concept offers a premium retail experience with high standards for service, cleanliness, and operational excellence. With increasing customer expectations and operational complexity, YPF seeks to leverage autonomous systems, robotics, AI, and smart monitoring to improve operational efficiency, service consistency, and safety.

The objective is to enable store teams to dedicate more time to customer engagement and service excellence by reducing the effort required for routine operational activities, while maintaining a premium customer experience. Solutions should demonstrate their ability to improve operational efficiency, optimize resource utilization, and enhance customer experience through intelligent automation and data-driven decision-making.

The Challenge:

YPF invites innovators to propose autonomous or intelligent systems that can be piloted at the Full-Black store in Nordelta. The challenge requires that each proposal solution addresses one of the following tracks:

Track 1: Smart Store Operations Assistant

• The proposed system may include, but is not limited to, the following functions:
  • Table and Dining Area Support: Collection of trays, utensils, cups, napkins, and other items from tables; assistance in maintaining customer seating areas clean, organized and ready for use; transport of collected items to predefined drop-off or cleaning points; detection of tables requiring attention; support for staff prioritization of cleaning or service activities.
  • Store Order and Cleanliness Assistance: Identification of misplaced items or areas requiring attention; support in maintaining general order in the customer-facing area; assistance with light cleaning operational logistics (e.g., transporting supplies, materials or waste to designated locations); detection of overflowing bins or unattended waste.
  • Backroom / Storage Support: Assistance with organizing products, supplies, or materials in the storage area; transport of goods between storage and customer-facing locations; inventory support, shelf monitoring, or stock-level detection; identification of disorganized or misplaced items.

Track 2: Autonomous Security Monitoring and Patrol System

• The proposed solution may include, but is not limited to, the following capabilities:
  • Autonomous Patrol: Scheduled or on-demand patrol along predefined outdoor routes; monitoring of parking areas, access points, perimeter zones, and other relevant locations; autonomous navigation within a service station environment; reliable operation across different times of day and under varying lighting conditions.
  • Risk and Anomaly Detection: Detection of vehicles parked in unusual areas or for unusual periods; identification of potentially unsafe situations near the store, fueling areas, parking lots, and access routes; detection of suspicious activity, vandalism-related events, or unauthorized access to restricted areas; identification of abnormal crowding, loitering, or unusual movement patterns; automated alert generation for situations requiring staff review or intervention.
  • Integration with Existing Systems: Potential integration with existing CCTV or video surveillance systems; real-time alerts to store personnel, security staff, or control centers; event recording and evidence capture; dashboard or mobile interface for incident review; configurable alert thresholds and escalation rules.

Track 3: Intelligent Service Quality Monitoring System

• The proposed system may include, but is not limited to, the following areas:
  • Cleanliness and Facility Monitoring: Detection of cleanliness issues across the store, restrooms, dining areas, and common spaces; identification of spills, waste accumulation, full bins, disorganized areas, or maintenance needs; monitoring restroom conditions through privacy-preserving methods; real-time alerts to support timely corrective actions; tracking of cleaning activities, response time and facility conditions.
  • Operational Excellence Insights: Identification of recurring deviations from expected service standards; dashboards, reporting, and performance indicators to support operational visibility; detection of operational and recurring patterns across time; support for staff planning and task prioritization; recommendations for operational improvements and continuous optimization.
  • Customer Service Quality: Detection of service bottlenecks and operational inefficiencies; monitoring of waiting times or queue lengths; identification of unattended customers or service delays.

The intended outcome is to identify and pilot solutions that measurably improve customer experience, operational consistency, safety, and data-driven decision-making, with potential for future scaling and commercial agreements across YPF’s retail network.

Solution Requirements

• Solutions must be mature, safe, and suitable for pilot deployment in a real, customer-facing environment.
• Each proposal must address one of the following tracks: in-store service assistant, autonomous security monitoring, or service quality monitoring.
• Proposals must demonstrate technical feasibility, operational reliability, and compliance with safety, privacy, and data protection standards.
• Solutions must be practical for integration with existing store operations and infrastructure, with minimal disruption.
• Proposals should include a clear pilot plan, measurable KPIs, and address the feasibility of scaling within YPF and the possibility of commercial agreements after a successful pilot.

Solutions with Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 6-9 are invited.

Out of Scope:

• Purely conceptual ideas without a clear implementation path.
• Solutions lacking evidence of technical feasibility or pilot readiness.
• Technologies requiring excessive site modifications or with unclear safety mechanisms.
• Proposals relying on invasive or non-compliant data collection.

Your Submission

Proposals will be evaluated using these detailed criteria including strategic fit, technical feasibility, safety, business impact, scalability, user experience, and innovation.

Proposals must be submitted in English and should include:

1. Participation Type - you will first be asked to inform us how you are participating in this challenge, as a Solver (Individual) or Solver (Organization).
2. Selected Track - select the track your solution is applying to.
3. Solution Level - the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of your proposal or not applicable.
4. Solution Overview - describe ALL the following features of your solution and how they address the Solution Requirements: hardware/software, autonomy, capabilities, system constraints, energy needs, connectivity needs, and safety/privacy/data governance. (500 words).
5. Pilot plan - describe the scope, activities, timeline, resources, YPF support required, and delivery lead time for the Pilot plan (500 words).
6. Commercial model and costs - specify the pilot cost, recurring cost, scaling cost, pricing model, implementation assumptions (up to 500 words).
7. Expected impact - describe KPIs, measurable outcomes, operational/business value (up to 500 words).
8. Experience – describe any expertise, use cases, references, deployments and skills you or your organization may have in relation to your proposed solution (up to 500 words)
9. Scalability - describe how this solution could be scaled within YPF.
10. Executive summary - describe your solution briefly (up to 500 words).
11. Visual/technical materials - attach renders and schematics with dimensions in the attachment section. Add supporting diagrams, photos, videos, dashboards and technical brochures.

Participation Guidance

1. Submission Close Date: Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on August 14, 2026.

2. Late submissions: Late submissions will not be considered.

3. Multiple submissions, One Maximum Per Track: In case of multiple submissions by the same Solver, only one submission per track – the final ones submitted – will be considered. Any other submissions will be deleted prior to evaluation.

4. Submission form and attachments: Your submission will be evaluated by the evaluation team first reviewing the information and content you have submitted at the submission form, with attachments used as additional context to your form submission. Submissions relying solely on attachments will receive less attention from the evaluation team.

5. Evaluation notification steps: After the Challenge submission close date, YPF will review and select the winning solutions according to the timeline in the Challenge header. Everyone who submits a proposal will be notified about the status of their submissions. Participation does not guarantee pilot selection or future commercial agreements; all collaboration is subject to YPF’s evaluation.

6. Use of AI: Please note that any submissions produced solely with generative AI are not of interest.

7. Learn more: Find out more about participation in Innocentive Challenges.