The holiday season’s here! It’s the time of the year when shoppers throng stores to buy special goodies and other season essentials.
Holidays or otherwise, a major challenge for shoppers is the long queues at checkout counters. The line almost seems never ending!
Many e-retailers like Amazon, E-bay, Walmart, Macy’s entered the market to make shopping more convenient. Using these websites, customers can make purchases from the comfort of their home. The websites then deliver the products to the customer’s doorstep. For shoppers who still preferred the good old way of shopping from stores, there wasn’t any alternative.
Amazon Go
Leading e-commerce website, Amazon, is set to launch a convenient store with the ‘most advanced shopping technology’, Amazon Go.
Amazon’s idea behind the initiative?
(To) ‘push the boundaries of computer vision and machine learning to create a store where customers could simply take what they want and go’
Amazon Go allows users to walk into their store, pick the products they want and just walk out. No lines, no waiting.
The store will feature groceries and ready to eat meals which include breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
How does Amazon Go work?
The store’s built around what Amazon calls ‘Just Walk Out’ technology. Self-driving cars use the same technology. The technology involves computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning.
Watch the video here.
Only the customer using the Amazon app and Amazon Go app on their smartphone can enter the store. To enter, customers will have to scan the QR Code generated on their phone.
Just Walk Out technology can detect when a customer picks a product off the shelf or places it back. The technology keeps track of the purchases on a virtual cart.
Once the customer walks out of the store, the billed amount is deducted from their Amazon wallet.
The store is currently open to Amazon employees in their Beta program. It will be open to the public in Jan 2017.
The store occupies 1,800 square feet of retail space, at 2131 7th Ave, Seattle, Washington, USA.
What are your thoughts on Amazon Go? Share your views in the comments section below.
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