...of the workplace
“Just walk out” technology by Amazon
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Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon
#592Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, IBM "thinks" the future. Other companies build them. Conclusion : ideas are worthless, Execution is key
AT&T had advertisements that said "You Will"... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Will I was always confused as to why they'd spend money on vaporware advertising, since I don't think they were responsible for doing any of the things.
Bell Labs was responsible for much of the underlying technology, and these applications had been foreseen. But they were undoubtedly deluded about their ability to deliver those applications.
Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon
#593Earlier quoted context omitted.
See, I was thinking of it the other way around. If you're going to change things, you might as well go all the way. Because it's not like they're fooling anyone right now.
If the end goal was to transform all WF stores in the near future, I agree. However, I don't think that is what's happening here. For that transformation to work well, the whole "cashier-less shopping experience" needs to be normalized with the general public, and that's where the brilliance of Amazon's strategy with this tech can be observed. WF has already served Amazon well by being a test bed for grocery delivery…
On the other hand, if they did pull off a seamless integration of the tech into WF, it would be a massive selling point. Amazon Go demonstrates that the tech can work in a store designed around it, WF would show that it can be integrated into an existing business. But they have no reason to rush and use themselves as the guinea pig if they can offload that risk onto literally anyone else. Moving WF over will be the signal that they consider the tech mature enough for large-scale businesses to consider.
Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon
#594Earlier quoted context omitted.
Doing it with RFID is surprisingly non-trivial even in the physical sense. That is the error rate of RFID bulk reads is small enough for opportunistic tracking of stuff, but mostly unacceptable for basing any kind of financial transaction on that.
Don't do a bulk read, then. Build RFID readers—and an RFID-blocking envelope, and a 3G or WiMAX radio—into shopping carts/baskets. Detect each item as it enters/exits the cart using the RFID reader inside the cart, and then use the radio to report it to the store, to sync the physical state of the cart/basket with an equivalent virtual shopping cart. Then, put an RFID tag on the outside of the cart/basket, which will…
And for the idea of doing RF magic for RFID: you to some extent want to do that, ant then you will find out that random Chinese sector antenna solves the same problem (obviously with the fact that it is simply not practical/possible to track everything with RFID tag that goes through the warehouse gate)
Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon
#595Earlier quoted context omitted.
But you just bought a toilet seat, surely you want five more toilet seats, you toilet seat enthusiast you.
Ha, for me it was hammocks.. for years! Just call me The Hammock Man!
When I was in college Amazon was perpetually convinced I would want multiple different textbooks for the same subject.
Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon
#596Earlier quoted context omitted.
It doesn't even need to be a special app, it could just be another Apple Wallet/Android Wallet card. If you tried the Amazon Go app, it is literally just an app that displays a QR code that you use to scan when entering the store. That's literally it, no notifications, no other extra functionality, nothing. As soon as Apple Wallet/Android Wallet integrate it, it will become even more seamless. A good example for peop…
A QR code can be displayed as a saved image. The Amazon Go app on Android requires the following permissions: Identity find accounts on the device add or remove accounts Contacts find accounts on the device Location approximate location (network-based) precise location (GPS and network-based) Wi-Fi connection information view Wi-Fi connections Other receive data from Internet view network connections create accounts…
I just checked the iOS version, and it requires none of those permissions. The only ones I have noticed were access to use cellular data + background app refresh. No contacts access, no location access, nothing. I guess the devs must have just went all out on the Android version.
Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon
#597Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was under the impression that Amazon is using RFID for "just walk out". They filed patents for a "shelf with integrated electronics", which mentions RFID as a potential implementation [0]. Does anyone here know for sure whether "just walk out" uses RFID? [0] https://sqoop.com/details/uspto/10064502
If this really is the same tech they use for Amazon Go then no. I'm not sure where they would have hid an RFID chip in the single apple I picked up from their larger store a week ago.
Might there have been an RFID sticker on that apple you bought? Something like this one: https://www.amazon.com/YARONGTECH-50pcs-MIFARE-Classic-adhes...
Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon
#598Earlier quoted context omitted.
A QR code can be displayed as a saved image. The Amazon Go app on Android requires the following permissions: Identity find accounts on the device add or remove accounts Contacts find accounts on the device Location approximate location (network-based) precise location (GPS and network-based) Wi-Fi connection information view Wi-Fi connections Other receive data from Internet view network connections create accounts…
I notice it's also labeled as displaying ads. And this is Amazon's debut offering. It's not going to get better from here as they get more adoption. I do not want this app on my phone. Everything I know about about the mobile ecosystem tells me that if an app/card/integration is required for an unrelated service, it's going to go downhill over time. Everything I know about Amazon means that they are definitely going…
They require a special credit card? I connected my usual credit card from my bank to the account half a year ago and have been using it successfully with Apple Wallet just fine.
Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon
#599Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't want to say the "p" word and spark a huge social justice flame war, but a lot of comments in this thread are so obviously speaking from a place of financial advantage. In response to your comment in particular, yes, I have done that. Not often, but it has happened often enough, and only a few dollars each time. Do you think people whip out Excel and keep a running tally of every item in their carts?
"A place of financial advantage" is a more specific and useful characterization, anyway.
Agreed.
Re: “Just walk out” technology by Amazon
#600Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, IBM "thinks" the future. Other companies build them. Conclusion : ideas are worthless, Execution is key
AT&T had advertisements that said "You Will"... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Will I was always confused as to why they'd spend money on vaporware advertising, since I don't think they were responsible for doing any of the things.
To be fair, many of those came to fruition over AT&T's network, until you hit your monthly data and FAX cap