Amazon has just started testing its futuristic grocery store dubbed 'Amazon Go', which allows customers to simply walk in, pick up their goods and walk out, without having to use any cash register or wait in long checkout lines. All your purchases will be billed directly to your Amazon Prime account as soon as you exit the store.
The new Artificial Intelligence controlled grocery store uses computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning to record when items are taken off or returned to the shelves. The futuristic retail store located at 2131 7th Ave in Seattle, Washington, is expected to launch in early 2017.
Shoppers no longer have to scan the barcode printed on each of the purchased goods at the time of checkout as the grocery store will make use of near field communications technology (NFC) on the phone to enable the Amazon Go app communicate with the cash register.
Customers will just have to install the Amazon Go app, log in with their Amazon account and let the sensor scan and authorise their phone while entering the outlet.
Alternatively buyers may use the Apple Store shopping app for iPhone and iPad to pay for items in brick-and-mortar convenience stores or any physical stores without a register.
Here's how Amazon explains its new AI-controlled futuristic grocery stores, which has been four years in the making:
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. 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. Shortly after, we'll charge your Amazon account and send you a receipt.
The upcoming Amazon Go store is spread across a vast expanse of 1,800 square foot area and currently open for the company's employees as part of the ongoing beta program. The futuristic grocery store will be available for public use in early 2017, while the company expects to launch several of these stores across the US in the next few years.
Interested users may sign up here for email updates and get notified when the store launches.
