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Amazon Go

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Re: Amazon Go

#231

Post by ben0x539 »

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…

As a customer-facing thing, "how it works" means "what do I have to do to get stuff". Like, how does the process work on a UX level.

Re: Amazon Go

#232

Post by mulletboy »

exhilaration wrote: post #199
mulletboy wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

If that risk exists it will turn into a disincentive for people to even pick up items and look at them closely. If this gets in the way of people making impulse purchases it could significantly reduce the store's sales volume - after all few people stick to their shopping lists and retailers know this. I'm looking forward to seeing the results!

This. That 80$ champagne bottle over there? Better get my hands off it!

Re: Amazon Go

#233

Post by matthewmacleod »

CodeSheikh wrote: post #201

Guys this is not good. As much as I love the convenience of pick-and-go, this eventually will prove out to be drastic for a variety of bad socioeconomic reasons, that most of us are already aware of. Small businesses were already suffering at the hands of Amazon Prime. Now Amazon Go wants to not only kick out those businesses out of the block but it also wants to take away jobs of small retail salesperson. Unacceptab…

It's a broken idea to think that technology will not replace jobs – end of story. Trying to legislate for inefficiency is doomed to failure – instead of hand-wringing about the loss of jobs (an almost inevitable side-effect of technological progress) it seems much more sensible to start thinking about about what an economy without these jobs would look like.

Re: Amazon Go

#234

Post by rkangel »

chinathrow wrote: post #88
blackaspen wrote: post #27

Here's an ad from IBM circa 2006 predicting(?) this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob532iEpqk Crazy to think we're actually here now. And even sans-RFID.

"Sensor fusion" could very well imply that RFID could be within the picture.

Or even just a strain gauge weight detection on the shelf combined with computer vision.

Re: Amazon Go

#235

Post by solatic »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #74
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 really wouldn't trust 'picked up off the shelf' detection, not without the whole thing looking like a giant vending machine. RFID tags on products probably works better.

RFID probably works better if you control the packaging, for instance, for deli counter products. But for packaging that you don't control, you either have to slap an RFID tag on when the items get to the store, negotiate with suppliers to start to include RFID tags in their packaging for items shipped to your store, or arbitrarily limit yourself in terms of which products your store may sell. Not to mention that, if your store slaps on RFID tags itself, it raises the OpEx of running the store as well as needing to come up with tamper-resistant tags, because somebody would be able to steal a product by discreetly removing a tag and then walking out of the store.

In essence, RFID tag technology already exists, and there's a reason why it hasn't taken off in grocery stores.

Re: Amazon Go

#236

Post by maxerickson »

wehadfun wrote: post #217
excalibur wrote: post #91

What happens when you don't have enough money available to Amazon to cover all the things you grabbed? Do they give you a window to return items before banning you from the store and/or notifying police?

Wonddered the same thing. Also what if you dont want your purchases to end up in the cloud. Can you still pay with cash?

And does paying with cash matter in a store using advanced image recognition? Or do they also use the image recognition to build a profile of the purchaser?

Re: Amazon Go

#237

Post by lorenzhs »

BjoernKW wrote: post #84
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…

Tesco also has pushed self scanning tills for years now. However, the number of employees working at the cash register is still the same because those scanners sometimes do not work and most importantly their user experience is deplorable. So, you frequently have to ask someone for help (and I'm in my mid-thirties and very tech-savvy. I can only imagine how someone twice my age would feel when using these scanners).

Don't ever use a Chip + Signature credit card at a Tesco self-checkout, they had to reboot the thing when I accidentally used it instead of my regular UK Debit card.

Other than that I really like self-checkouts, usually much quicker and they're excellent for coin disposal (dump all your coins in it and pay the rest by card).

Re: Amazon Go

#238

Post by saosebastiao »

makecheck wrote: post #229
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…

One interesting benefit of the “detect removal from shelf” concept is that there might finally be a time stamp associated with the removal of the item. Right now, if you see a random perishable item sitting on a shelf, you HAVE to throw it away because it could have been there for a long time. On the other hand, if you can see that some Frozen Peas were only taken off the shelf 2 minutes ago, you can just put them ba…

UPC codes are not uniquely identifiable to the unit, only to the product. You could narrow it down to all of the people who took that item off the shelf, but you'd probably be into surveillance reviews after that.

An option is to label all the items with a unique identifier, but that is typically seen as too costly, which is also the reason Amazon hasn't fully fixed the FBA counterfeit problem.

Re: Amazon Go

#239

Post by Guest98123 »

hodgesrm wrote: post #125
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…

How does this handle produce? The assumption seems to be that everything is packaged.

At a lot of grocery stores in Europe, you weigh and tag your own produce. Basically you put your bananas in a plastic bag, set them on the scale in the produce section, and push the number for bananas or select them on the touch screen. It prints out a barcode and price, you stick it on the bag, and the cashier scans it.

Perhaps this could be similar, but instead of printing the barcode, it automatically adds the item to your Amazon cart.

Re: Amazon Go

#240

Post by lorenzhs »

crottypeter wrote: post #197
BjoernKW wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesco also has pushed self scanning tills for years now. However, the number of employees working at the cash register is still the same because those scanners sometimes do not work and most importantly their user experience is deplorable. So, you frequently have to ask someone for help (and I'm in my mid-thirties and very tech-savvy. I can only imagine how someone twice my age would feel when using these scanners).

Terrible UX is spot-on. I was using one of these just this morning: got all my shopping onto the scale/shelf and was getting ready to pay. The machine asks how many 5p bags I used. So I start packing the stuff into my backpack to find out whether I need a bag. The machine pipes up: "Did you remove something from the scale?" The screen has a full screen modal warning that I have to put the shopping back. I put the thi…

Just say you brought your own bag and put the backpack on the scale. Then put things into the backpack as you scan them. Sometimes it'll request an attendant to confirm that it's empty (probably because it's heavier than most bags).
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