Amazon is making some more sweeping changes with their next big project, product, idea, whatever you want to call it. Amazon Go is going to take supermarkets and bring them into the modern age, by doing what Amazon does best, cutting out human interaction.
Described as “the world’s most advanced shopping technology.” If you’re tired of walking into the supermarket, shopping around for what you need, then having to wait like a chump for a checkout, dig the change out of your purse or wallet, screw a receipt up into your pocket, then pack your shopping and go, the Amazon Go is perfect for you.
You walk into the shop, grab what you need from the store and go. Say you need milk, walk in, put it in your bag and leave. While that sounds like shoplifting, smart technology is in play here.
“Our checkout-free shopping experience is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning,” said Amazon. “Our Just Walk Out technology automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart. When you’re done shopping, you can just leave the store.”
The goods you take with you will automatically charge to your normal Amazon account and payment method, and your receipt, should you need one, will appear in your Inbox.
The first store is an 1800sq ft retail space in Seattle and will be available as part of their Beta program in early 2017 using their Amazon Go app.
So you register yourself as you want in, and then cameras track you around the store.
Items on shelves register themselves using RFID to the smart shelf. When they are removed, the system associates the nearest user with taking it. Hopefully your phone will beep or something so you know the item has been registered.
What happens when two users are next to each other taking items? What about ‘reach across’ item taking?