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Amazon Go

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Re: Amazon Go

#151

Post by mulletboy »

elicash wrote: post #43

I worked at a grocery store for several years, and one thing I recall is customers CONSTANTLY putting items back in a random aisle, rather than where they found it. I wonder how this tech deals with that? Maybe they figured that out, too. But I was amused in the video when I saw the customer putting it back where it belonged, because that's not how I remember that going... All that said, this is fantastic and excitin…

> I worked at a grocery store for several years, and one thing I recall is customers CONSTANTLY putting items back in a random aisle, rather than where they found it.

If the incentive is reducing the chances of being charged by the system for an item they didn't buy, you bet people will put stuff back where they found it.

Re: Amazon Go

#152

Post by giarc »

sqeaky wrote: post #139
giarc wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt Amazon is in the business of selling your data to insurance companies.

Only because its not profitable yet? Or do you have some other reason? Why wouldn't they, have they demonstrated some level of ethics or concern for personal privacy?

Because it's literally line 1 of their privacy policy about sharing user data.

>Information about our customers is an important part of our business, and we are not in the business of selling it to others.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...

Re: Amazon Go

#153

Post by draw_down »

sqeaky wrote: post #107
raverbashing wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once I got the hang of it, I've had almost zero problems with self-checkout machines It's usually one of two things: a purchase that must be approved (either alcohol or some medicine) or scanning the single item barcode of a multi-item

I think there are bigger problems, like how they implicitly assume everyone is a thief and are will to damage usability for everyone because that assumption. That stupid scale isn't going to stop any shoplifter, but it does inconvenience me every time. EDIt - Grammar.

Right. They're user-hostile.

Re: Amazon Go

#154

Post by parennoob »

dpark wrote: post #121
raverbashing wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once I got the hang of it, I've had almost zero problems with self-checkout machines It's usually one of two things: a purchase that must be approved (either alcohol or some medicine) or scanning the single item barcode of a multi-item

They screw up for me about 60% of the time. Alcohol is annoying but understandable. More problematic is the weight sensor that misreads the product after I set it down and forces me to wait for an assistant to click a button that says it's okay. I'll occasionally get the register that isn't calibrated properly and then I need assistance for every item. That's fun. I have given up on bagging as I check out. It goes cr…

> I have given up on bagging as I check out. It goes crazy every time I open a bag and set it in the bagging area. So now I just pile up my groceries and bag them when I'm done, which wastes everyone's time.

This. Trying to do the following

a) Open one of the cellophane bags that are stuck closely together

b) Put the product I just scanned in it

c) Take my hand away so it reads the weight correctly

...are way too difficult for me to do without the machine locking up and saying "okay, assistance required, let's hold you up until the overworked 1 person for 12 checkout machines gets here". So I do the same thing you do, just throw them in the checkout area and bag later.

It wastes everyone's time, but sometimes allows me to bag more efficiently and use fewer plastic bags.

Re: Amazon Go

#155

Post by _wmd »

draw_down wrote: post #58
bbrks wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK, Tesco have been running a 'Scan as you Shop'[0] thing for a couple of years now. Customers pick up a scanner as they enter, scan their items as they go into their cart, and they have special checkouts which read your scanner. There's a random chance that your scanner will be audited by a human against the contents of your shopping cart. Usually the first time you use it, then it backs off. [0] http://www.t…

Sounds great if it's not as unbelievably user-hostile as the self checkout machines. Those things are just total crap, every one I've ever tried.

Tesco's last generation machines are particularly bad, although their newest ones have removed a huge amount of latency from the UI and weighing scales from what I've seen.

If you're shopping for a single item, scanning it and dropping it in the bagging area is sufficient to start the flow, then simply wait a second, click finish, then tap your contactless card is all required to complete a transaction, can be done in under 5 seconds

The best machines I've seen in the UK in terms of user flow are probably at Waitrose, they're just supremely faster to use than those at Tesco

Re: Amazon Go

#156

Post by geekamongus »

xd1936 wrote: post #51
bbrks wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK, Tesco have been running a 'Scan as you Shop'[0] thing for a couple of years now. Customers pick up a scanner as they enter, scan their items as they go into their cart, and they have special checkouts which read your scanner. There's a random chance that your scanner will be audited by a human against the contents of your shopping cart. Usually the first time you use it, then it backs off. [0] http://www.t…

Sam's Club has been doing similar for the last year[0], as well. They already have a built-in "check your receipt at the door" flow that customers are used to, so it wasn't that hard to offer an electronic tweak to the existing system. [0] http://www.samsclub.com/sams/pagedetails/content.jsp?pageNam...

I used this for the first time two days ago. I was pleasantly surprised, and it felt really awesome --almost to a point of guilt-- skipping the checkout lines.

However, once I reached the exit where the man was inspecting receipts, things screeched to a halt. I showed him the bar code on my phone, and he looked at it, exclaiming, "Oh no, Scan and Go. You used Scan and Go."

He then turned to find a powered-off scanning device that he couldn't get to start up, as he muttered, "I wish they'd never started that."

I replied, "As a customer, I love it."

He had to call over a manager, who used her scanner to scan my barcode, blindly scroll through my purchased items list to get to the green button, and declared me good to go.

Meanwhile, I had held up all the people trying to exit behind me. It was still faster than checking out, but hopefully they get proper training for their employees implemented.

Re: Amazon Go

#157

Post by masthead »

Merad wrote: post #86

I hate it when companies offer a "how this works" section that doesn't actually tell you a damned thing about how it works. * How does my Amazon account get associated with the items I take? * How are items detected when leaving the store? If my friend and I walk out side by side, how does it know (if it does) which items are mine and which are hers? * What happens when someone picks up an item and leaves without fir…

Exactly. They say, it uses Deep Learning, Computer Vision and blah blah.. (Add 2 more buzzwords). But, for christ's sake, say how!

Re: Amazon Go

#158

Post by [deleted] »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #95
erelde wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll admit, my first thoughts were "How can I exploit this system? How would I place sensors? What kind of sensors? Pressure plates? Cameras? IR trackers?" etc etc. And I'm no shoplifter, never done that, I just tinker with stuff all the time. It's a kind of occupational psychosis. Same with lockpicks.

Yeah, but ultimately it's pretty easy to steal from a lot of regular stores too, and most people just...don't. Because they're not thieves.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon Go

#159

Post by Blue3Wheeler »

elicash wrote: post #43

I worked at a grocery store for several years, and one thing I recall is customers CONSTANTLY putting items back in a random aisle, rather than where they found it. I wonder how this tech deals with that? Maybe they figured that out, too. But I was amused in the video when I saw the customer putting it back where it belonged, because that's not how I remember that going... All that said, this is fantastic and excitin…

In the video they said they use deep learning algorithms. Perhaps each product has a unique number and even if it is not put in the right place the algorithm saves its new position.

Re: Amazon Go

#160

Post by cobookman »

erelde wrote: post #44
Someone1234 wrote: post #18

Companies have been discussing "checkout-less" stores since forever, but nobody has been brave enough to do it due to the perceived threat of shoplifting. And while shoplifting is a legitimate threat, are non-shoplifters going to be turned into shoplifters without a checkout? Are normal shoplifters stopped by checkouts? These are the core questions, and until it is tested nobody will know for sure. Target is getting…

I'll admit, my first thoughts were "How can I exploit this system? How would I place sensors? What kind of sensors? Pressure plates? Cameras? IR trackers?" etc etc. And I'm no shoplifter, never done that, I just tinker with stuff all the time. It's a kind of occupational psychosis. Same with lockpicks.

If the cost of sensors + additional theft is less than the cost of the removed salespersons. Then the system makes business sense.
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