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Amazon Unveils 'Self-driving' Brick-and-Mortar Convenience Store (seattletimes.com)

Posted by msmash on from the glimpse-of-future dept.

Amazon announced Monday it has built a convenience store in downtown Seattle that deploys a gaggle of technologies similar to those used in self-driving cars to allow shoppers to come in, grab items and walk out without going through a register (Editor's note: the link could be paywalled; alternate source). From a report on Seattle Times: The 1,800 square-foot store, officially dubbed "Amazon Go," is the latest beach in brick-and-mortar retail stormed by the e-commerce giant, which already has bookstores and is working on secretive drive-through grocery locations. It's clearly a sign that Amazon sees a big opportunity in revolutionizing the staid traditions of Main Street commerce. Located on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Blanchard Street, the store is open to Amazon employees participating in a testing program. It is expected to be open to the public in early 2017.

123 comments

  1. We have those already in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It is called "self checkout". You still need a person there to make sure people aren't stealing stuff. This is just a way to save on labor costs.

    1. Re: We have those already in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      The people at the self-checkout registers are there when the machine (or customer) screws up, or when there is some exception which requires human interaction (ie. the self-checkout register can't currently measure a length of wire, for example, and charge the correct amount per foot).

      You can steal something anywhere in a store. I'm not sure why you'd do it at a register (there's more cameras in this area than anywhere else, to prevent theft of cash by employees).

    2. Re: We have those already in the US by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      Do they check ID's when you try to buy beer?

    3. Re: We have those already in the US by OzPeter · · Score: 2

      You can steal something anywhere in a store. I'm not sure why you'd do it at a register (there's more cameras in this area than anywhere else, to prevent theft of cash by employees).

      Plausible deniability*.

      You go to the bakery section and self select a bunch of expensive pastries and place them in the non-seethrough (provided by the bakery) bag and then proceed to the self-service checkout. At that location you punch in the code for a much cheaper pastry. They system only works on a weight basis and accepts your code. So you get an instant discount that amounts to theft. Plus if you actually get caught (unlikely) you can easily blame the error on confusion in selecting the correct product at the register.

      * Not that I would advocate stealing or that my knowledge of this loophole is anything but theoretical /s

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    4. Re: We have those already in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We don't need the self checkout registers to be supervised in Europe. One of the major ways Europeans are better than Americans is that we can be trusted not to steal stuff in situations like that.

      The USA is demographically challenged compared to Europe.

      Don't worry; you'll soon need supervision if you keep importing African and Middle Eastern "refugees."

    5. Re: We have those already in the US by bazorg · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Over here in the UK all that is plausible but the customer would still risk the public embarrassment. At Tesco supermarkets, about 1 in every 4 times I use the "Scan as you shop" portable device I get a random check at the till.
      It's still practical shopping: I take one bag into the shop, scan the barcodes as I pick the products and use a specific group of tills (usually less busy) without having to take the stuff out of the bag. If I get delayed by the "random check" it's their staff that has to unpack and pack my items again. Not a huge problem for anyone involved.

      The scan as a you shop is for registered shoppers only, so it would be silly to try fraud after scanning the loyalty card that links the products to your address and identity. Non-registered shoppers using the self-checkout tills possibly get more attention and more sensitive scales to be sure that the 100 grammes of cheap pastry is not really 102 grammes of expensive pastry or cheese.

    6. Re: We have those already in the US by bazorg · · Score: 1

      Yep. The barcode scanner is used for all items, if some restricted products are scanned, the till won't let you go through to payment before the supermarket attendant comes over and approves the transaction.

    7. Re: We have those already in the US by smooth+wombat · · Score: 0, Troll

      Over here in the UK all that is plausible but the customer would still risk the public embarrassment.

      You aren't familiar with how Americans live their lives, are you?

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    8. Re: We have those already in the US by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yes, because Europeans are inherently all honest and Americans are all t'ieves aren't we?

      Self-service checkouts turn honest shoppers into thieves, warn criminologists

      The study involved data from nearly 12 million shopping trips from four major British retailers as well others in the US, Belgium and Holland between 2013 and 2015

      The researchers found that introducing self-checkouts raised the rate of loss by 122 per cent to an average of 3.9 per cent of turnover.

      It is also difficult for retailers to identify whether a customer wilfully took items without scanning or were simply absentminded.

      I'm in the US and I must plead guilty to being absentminded and "stealing" a loaf of bread once. It was very crowded and I just wanted to get the hell out of there. After I exited the store I noticed it sitting there in the lower basket of my cart (not scanned or paid for). I briefly thought about going back inside and paying for it, but then I thought of the crowds and the time it would take.

      I figured I could just make it right the next time I shopped there. I never did.

      I've also seen, but never taken, the opportunity to mis-enter the codes for my produce. Am I buying the expensive apples or the cheap ones? Hmmm....I could easily claim it was an honest mistake.

      I don't do that because the risk is not worth the few pennies I might save. I also consider myself honest, but I guess I'm not that honest since I never made good on that loaf of bread.

      And they don't always watch given that I sometimes have to track down an employee when the self-checkout thinks there's a problem. Usually they just clear the register without checking to make sure I didn't cheat.

      I believe that Honesty through paranoia is a real thing. Of course sometimes they really are watching. You can never know for sure unless you try, right?

      Of course that's not going to stop everyone. Even before self-checkout some people would switch price tags, barcodes or just stuff more expensive merchandise into cheaper packaging. And then there's what's called "sweethearting" where the cashier just cooperates with the thief and doesn't ring certain things up properly if at all.

      Don't kid yourself. Shoplifting and other forms of theft are a real problem all over the world. There are people who actually make a living at it.

    9. Re: We have those already in the US by bazorg · · Score: 1

      nope, but I'd like to visit one day :)

    10. Re: We have those already in the US by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      No you don't. Some things are best left set to 'virtual'.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    11. Re: We have those already in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least we can spell properly.

    12. Re: We have those already in the US by Kohath · · Score: 1

      People who steal stuff from stores generally come up with elaborate, multi-step plans?

      Supermarkets are structured differently than bank vaults. Why? Because stores are structured to facilitate trade and banks are structured to secure things.

    13. Re: We have those already in the US by bazorg · · Score: 1

      ahaha.
      I've been keeping this in my bookmarks/bucket list for years. I don't think VR would be an acceptable replacement. Even if I have to dodge a few bullets here and there :)

    14. Re: We have those already in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One of the major ways Americans are better than Europeans is that Americans are not lazy when they are on the clock. In America the cashiers bag your shit because they are being paid and want to show their boss they will do their job with a smile. When you go to Europe the cashier stares angrily at you, holding up the line when you expect them to actually do some work.

    15. Re: We have those already in the US by elrous0 · · Score: 2

      Companies adopt self-checkout because the money they save on employee wages far outweighs the money that they lose on additional theft.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    16. Re: We have those already in the US by smooth+wombat · · Score: 1

      Despite the insistence of one or more people to mod down everything I post, if you do decide to come over and will be somewhere in the New York City area, drop me a note beforehand. I can't promise you the world, but I'll do my best to get you oriented on how we move in this country.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    17. Re: We have those already in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So when I started my first period I wanted to keep it private but the whole world found out. I was really mad because I didnt want anyone to know but my mum told everyone! When I questioned her she listed me everyone she had told and it didn't seem like many; my dad, my grandma (my grandpa knew because my grandma was on the phone with my mom and she blurted out something about pads), my aunt Lynn, my aunt Nicki, and a few others. Later she even told my cousins (that are more like sisters) really loudly like "MADISON STARTED HER PERIOD!" She also told my other step grandma and real grandpa. I got really mad at her for telling but she said "hey I only told your dad, grandpa and aunt Lynn who all spread it round. I hadn't even told my best friend that I have known since kindergarden or my cousin Becca who is just a year younger than me!

    18. Re: We have those already in the US by bazorg · · Score: 1

      Thanks!

    19. Re: We have those already in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You would be surprised. There are plenty of "lifter" forums out there where people brag and take photos about their hauls, usually from smaller Mom and Pop stores since they tend to have less security than the big stores. Most amusing thing was one guy talking about when he was going to do his next run... The store owner was an acquaintance of mine, so I let him know. Said person's next post on the forum was how the LP guys were onto him and how he was facing felony larceny charges.

    20. Re: We have those already in the US by mobby_6kl · · Score: 1

      Yeah, exactly. Also, most shrinkage in retail is caused by employee theft. So if anything, self-checkout helps avoid that part altogether :D

    21. Re: We have those already in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >You can trust a Muslim majority not to steal from an infidel owned store

      Whatever you say, Ahmed.

    22. Re: We have those already in the US by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      ...we can be trusted not to steal stuff in situations like that.

      Yes, you are undoubtedly all well-behaved little serfs; centuries of the feudal elites' culling have effectively seen to that...

    23. Re: We have those already in the US by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      The original statement was that, in the US, there's a person sitting there to stop theft. In what way would having a person keeping an eye on the self-checkout lane stop that from happening?

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    24. Re:We have those already in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This isn’t like self-checkout at a grocery store where you scan all your items and then pay by credit card.

      With this system you just pick up what you want and walk out of the store. There is no stopping to check out. The system tracks you through the store, knows what you picked up, and charges you via your phone as you walk out the store.

      Which means that you don’t ever get to see and confirm what you are being billed for – at least not until your account statement comes at the end of the month. And, by then, it’s a little too late to be able to prove that you didn’t buy all of that Four Loko that you were charged for.

      Thanks, but I see way to many ways for this system to fail or, more likely, for people to figure out how to game it at other shoppers' expense. And what recourse do you have if you think you have been over-billed? Have you tried contacting Amazon customer service recently? For well defined uses cases (e.g. returns) it’s simple enough, but for anything out of the ordinary, it’s freakin’ impossible to get any help.

      This is one technology I will not be an early adopter of. I’m definitely going to give this several years to prove itself.

  2. Simple questions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who cares? How does this affect anyone? I'm sure I'll be modded troll rather than answering the questions, because Slashdot users hate the tough questions.

    1. Re:Simple questions by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It's hard to say, sometimes having staff is good, sometimes not.

      Web shopping used to be good because there were no sales staff pressuring or trying to mislead you. Then they figured out how to do that online too.

      On the one hand I hate car dealers, but on the other hand I can always get a pretty hefty discount from them unlike Tesla who just have a single online price and you take it or leave it.

      Japanese shops have lots of staff on the checkouts, sometimes two to a customer (one to pack, one to scan and handle payment). This applies even to low cost supermarkets and the like, because throughput is higher to offset the relatively small cost in wages. I like that. On the other hand, in the UK we have self-service checkouts to handle the same issue, but they suck and it's rare to get through one without staff assistance.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    2. Re:Simple questions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tough question? There's a very simple answer in tfa:

      The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a report this year that cashiers were the second-largest occupation, with 3.5 million employed in the U.S.

      Displacing that many working people, no matter how skilled or unskilled they may be, will have a disruptive effect on many people's lives.

  3. hotel mini bar like where if you bump something by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    hotel mini bar like where if you bump something you are billed?

    and one person at a time?

    1. Re:hotel mini bar like where if you bump something by dontbemad · · Score: 1

      It literally explains why and how that won't happen in TFA.

      I know, I know: "this is slashdot, we don't need no stinking articles."

  4. I do this all the time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apparently it's called "shoplifting".

  5. Mass surveillance that is fluffy and cute by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, we love you Big Brother. Everything you do to spy on us is for our own good, really.

  6. Irony? by argStyopa · · Score: 0

    Is it ironic or telling that a story about a business location that allows you to take content without stopping at a register is behind a paywall?

    --
    -Styopa
    1. Re:Irony? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you are assuming that the items are not being paid for? Are you a fool?

  7. Lovely but. by OzPeter · · Score: 1

    So I'm going to be a naysayer here (and yes I watched the video)

    1. How do you control age restricted materials?
    2. How do you control for multiple people co-ordinating to select a complete set of goods?
    3. How are they going to use the huge amount of personal information they will collect on what you buy?
    4. You can't pay with cash.
    5. You have to have a smart phone plus the Amazon App. So it verges on "company store" mentality and all the negative connotations of "company towns"
    6. You can't come in and browse to see if you want to shop at the location before committing.
    7. How do they control for turning your phone off after entering the store (or the battery dies)?

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    1. Re:Lovely but. by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      1) not sell them
      2) don't know what you mean
      3) the same way as on there website
      4) I think that's part of the point, it's hardly a hurdle for uber
      5) yes, and 100 years ago those connotations may have been in the collective consciousness in a real way
      6) haven't watched the video, but that seems like a bad idea on their part
      7) by not letting you purchase and having a greeter/security stop you.

      Some of these will clearly be negatives, but they're betting on convenience and price being a good trade off. They don't need to be everything to everybody, they need to be something new to enough people to cover the extra overhead of a location with space for shoppers in a more prime location than a warehouse.

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    2. Re:Lovely but. by Kohath · · Score: 2

      So I'm going to be a naysayer here (and yes I watched the video)

      1. How do you control age restricted materials?

      By not selling them. Obviously a better choice is for everyone to stop policing their neighbors' lives, but...

      2. How do you control for multiple people co-ordinating to select a complete set of goods?

      By not opening the stores in high crime neighborhoods. But mostly by not worrying about it. You know who is in the store and presumably you have cameras.

      3. How are they going to use the huge amount of personal information they will collect on what you buy?

      Add it to the info Amazon already has on what you buy from Amazon.

      4. You can't pay with cash.

      Shut down Internet commerce. You can't (generally) buy things online with cash.

      5. You have to have a smart phone plus the Amazon App. So it verges on "company store" mentality and all the negative connotations of "company towns"

      Apparently you don't know what company stores and company towns are. Hint: it's not when there are lots of competing stores around.

      6. You can't come in and browse to see if you want to shop at the location before committing.

      ... to download Amazon's free app.

      7. How do they control for turning your phone off after entering the store (or the battery dies)?

      Same way self checkout handles exception conditions.

    3. Re:Lovely but. by OzPeter · · Score: 1

      You need to watch the video. The store works by scanning a QR code on your phone in order to let you through a turnstile. That means that there is one person per phone in the store. But in reply to your reply.

      1. They show alcohol being sold.
      2. A group of people can't enter and shop as one unit. Imagine what that means for families.
      3. There is shitload more surveillance going on in this store compared to a website. Stuff gets added/emoved from your "cart" as it is picked up/placed back on the shelves.
      4. May not be an issue for Uber, but retail has always had the cash option. People have been using CC's for years in Taxis.
      5. So history is repeating itself with potential Balkanization of stores.
      6. You can only get in with QR code supplied by the App.
      7. The video emphasizes walk in/walk out with no interactions and nobody at the exit/entrance.

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    4. Re:Lovely but. by dontbemad · · Score: 0

      It sounds like all of your complaints are really complaints against niche products or offerings in general.

      1) As already pointed out, "don't sell them" (this is a C-Store, not a Wal-Mart).
      2) How would this activity be impacted in any way at all?
      3) I'd imagine you can read about it in the TOS, like 99.999% of other services that collect personal data on you.
      4) Sounds like you aren't the target demographic.
      5) This is a joke, right? Having to be a part of a club to get inside a store? What is Costco, what is Sam's Club, etc.
      6) By "committing", you mean having an Amazon account, am I correct? If I am to assume correctly that you don't have (and will not have) one, then once again, you aren't the target demographic.
      7) This is the first actual "concern" that makes any sense at all. I imagine this isn't tied to your phone exclusively, but probably something along the lines of facial recognition, motion capturing, etc. I wouldn't be surprised that the only thing that "signing in with your phone" at the front is doing is capturing your image for the session to determine when you walk about.

    5. Re:Lovely but. by Ranbot · · Score: 1

      Good questions and I'll add to them..

      How do they apply coupons?
      How does the store manage returns?
      What happens when a customer puts an item back on the shelf in the wrong place?
      What digital security measures are they taking? (not just on the database side, but criminals with RFID scanners would surely target a place like this)

      I'm not against the idea, but I'm skeptical.

    6. Re:Lovely but. by corvax · · Score: 1

      1. Controlled by in app credentials ie calls security or police of minor takes beer. (Could be in a locked case that dispenses item only if you meet requirements) 2. Also controlled in App If you are talking about your wife or kids and yourself grabbing different things you will just designate you are shopping for so and so... 3. They will use it the same way they do now. 4. Maybe they'll have a machine that you can put cash into to get a shopping code for the App Or a self checkout slow lane for the few people with cash? 5.The smart phone part does not apply here. But the Amazon App only makes sense to use at the Amazon store. You are not being Paid by Amazon and FORCED to spend your pay to buy thing in their store. 6.Who says you cant come in and browse just don't take anything. 7. If your phone dies the last thing you took off the shelf is the last thing you will be charged for. YOU will have to police yourself and KNOW if you take anything else it will be stealing. Since the app communicates with the cloud/store if you turn off your phone on purpose it will know and it will call security or the police.

    7. Re:Lovely but. by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Good questions and I'll add to them..

      How do they apply coupons?

      By not taking coupons.

      How does the store manage returns?
      What happens when a customer puts an item back on the shelf in the wrong place?

      Have guys working there to stock shelves and handle weird exception conditions.

      What digital security measures are they taking? (not just on the database side, but criminals with RFID scanners would surely target a place like this)

      Dealing with elaborate theft schemes isn't the main thing that stores worry about. Maybe the answer is: "buy theft insurance".

    8. Re:Lovely but. by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      on #1 local state laws may force an ID check / say manual lane only

    9. Re:Lovely but. by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      OK, thanks.

      1) Clearly this won't work overall (for example the under 21 issue), but that doesn't mean they won't modify it for general public. Unless the state and local laws allow them to treat a pre age verified amazon account as enough proof of age

      2) Does Amazon have family accounts? That should handle the family situation for 12+, and if they don't, they probably should

      3) Is it really gathering much more than the site? Amazon makes suggestions not just on what I've purchased, but what I've looked at.

      4) depends where you are, cabbies can be the worst, but that depends on where you are, I don't really see why cash is a necessity in most stores for their success, this is certainly an area that other stores can advertise to try and compete, but I don't see it making a huge effect on the bottom line

      5) I'm not going to defend or promote Amazon and their vertical integration, I'm simply saying it's not going to be the thing that bothers people in 2016

      6) So it's like costco, but non club members can't even enter? doesn't seem like a huge negative, but probably something they should consider

      7) I'm sure there will be some security when they open to the public, as long as it can detect unpurchased items crossing through, it won't really require human interaction to purchase, and the phone off trick won't work.

      Also, it's in beta, maybe some of these (1,6,7) will be resolved before public open, or shortly afterwards. Either way, it definitely won't be for everybody, but neither is a box store in general, or we wouldn't see them closing left and right.

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    10. Re:Lovely but. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By not opening the stores in high crime neighborhoods.

      That's racist!

    11. Re:Lovely but. by laurencetux · · Score: 1

      "1) Clearly this won't work overall (for example the under 21 issue), but that doesn't mean they won't modify it for general public. Unless the state and local laws allow them to treat a pre age verified amazon account as enough proof of age"

      any smart system would have a flag for "Requires Employee Verification" since i know for a fact that in NC|USA the ALE folks try to trap stores.

      Fun Factoid: In North Carolina if you have an out of state ID card it is not valid for Alcohol/Cigarettes
      Valid includes: US DL , NC ID , Military ID card , Passport (with English text)

    12. Re:Lovely but. by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      In my state many bars have decided a passport card doesn't count. It's caused me trouble, because I often go out with a throw away credit card and my passport card, as there's nothing to really lose then.

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  8. also no 21 and up items can be sold with by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    also no 21 and up items can be sold with no one there and in some states you must use the full checkout lane.

    1. Re:also no 21 and up items can be sold with by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 2

      Believe it or not, one of the arguments against allowing grocery stores to sell beer is that the grocery stores (who are very eager to sell beer) would have to hire people over 21 to ring people up.

      It was an absurd argument and some day we'll be able to buy beer with our groceries in my state.

    2. Re:also no 21 and up items can be sold with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That makes a lot more sense than most of the arguments about not allowing grocery stores to sell alcohol. A few years ago when Massachusetts had a ballot question on the subject (which would have allowed towns to decide whether to allow their grocery stores to sell wine), the argument (funded by liquor stores) was that allowing (towns to decide whether to allow) grocery stores to sell wine would result in convenience stores selling beer to minors. It made no sense, but people bought it and voted it down. The legislature made some changes to the liquor license regulations since then (which made it easier for convenience stores to sell beer and wine), but you still can't buy alcohol at most grocery stores because of limits to the number of liquor licenses one company can hold. Meanwhile, every grocery store, Target, Walmart, etc. across the border in New Hampshire has an aisle filled with wine (on top of the massive network of state liquor stores). Lost in all of this is the fact that all of these stores already sell age-restricted items (tobacco and lottery tickets) and plenty of other states have figured out how to sell alcohol in grocery stores (but not before noon on Sunday in New York).

    3. Re:also no 21 and up items can be sold with by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      I hated being in New York (upstate) in the early 00s.

      Yes, shitty beer at grocery stores, but I couldn't find a good beer anywhere, it was the worst Liquor system I've seen (short of dry counties).

      I assume beer becoming trendy has made this a lot less of an issue over the last 10 - 15 years.

      PA was a close second in shitty laws though.

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    4. Re:also no 21 and up items can be sold with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe some people make that argument, but there are only three states that require a seller/server to be 21 to sell alcohol. Most require 18.

  9. Prior Art by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Grabbing items in a store and not going through a register/checkout was created many, many years ago. It is called shoplifting.

  10. Retail and Driving by ghoul · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The most common jobs for Females in the US is Retail Cashier. The most common jobs for Males in the US is driver. Amazon is coming out with a store which doesnt need cashiers and Google is coming out with a truck which doesnt need drivers.
    Just what are people with only high school supposed to do? This is not Europe where govt pays for you to go to college. Many poor families cannot afford college and need jobs which can be done with a high school education.
    If this goes on the govt. will have to fund college including a living stipend while people made redundant go back to college to learn skills for the new economy.

    --
    **Life is too short to be serious**
    1. Re:Retail and Driving by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      >Just what are people with only high school supposed to do?

      In the words of one of the most (in)famous capitalists:

      "I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the [welfare] establishments I have mentioned: they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there.''
      "Many can't go there; and many would rather die.''
      "If they would rather die,'' said Scrooge, ``they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    2. Re:Retail and Driving by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Just where do you think Zombies come from?

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    3. Re:Retail and Driving by asylumx · · Score: 1

      What did they do before cash registers and cars existed? I'm not suggesting they will go back to that, but rather that there will be a new demand for them just like there was last time the paradigm shifted.

    4. Re:Retail and Driving by The-Ixian · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well.... when two zombies love each other very much....

      --
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    5. Re:Retail and Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >This is not Europe where govt pays for you to go to college

      Doesn't matter because it's a broken assumption to think that college is for everyone. Some people either reject mass education, and some people simply don't have the capacity to learn anything more complicated, and making college free won't fix those. Creating a system where every single person has to have a college education to succeed is broken as hell, just as is the assumption that a college education is required to be able to do a majority of jobs that people say require it (it really isn't).

    6. Re:Retail and Driving by elrous0 · · Score: 2

      Just what are people with only high school supposed to do?

      Be unemployed, getting angrier and angrier. And if history is any indication, that always ends well.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    7. Re:Retail and Driving by drew_kime · · Score: 1

      Wish I had mod points.

      --
      Nope, no sig
    8. Re:Retail and Driving by Nidi62 · · Score: 2

      Just what are people with only high school supposed to do? This is not Europe where govt pays for you to go to college. Many poor families cannot afford college and need jobs which can be done with a high school education.

      Votechs. The US needs to go to a more European model where students pick either a college track or a technical skills track. Maybe slightly modify it to where they split the last 2 years of high school, and make the first 2 years a much more general education, ie liberal arts, math, and life skills like basic accounting etc. After the second year if you want to go the college track you can take more advanced sciences, math, literature, etc; if you want the technical track you can start taking classes specializing in mechanics, welding, shop class, nursing, AMT, whatever. Have some classes in house and for others pair up with local (certified and approved) vocational schools or community colleges. Push federal funding for votechs and community colleges (which all happen to be cheaper than 4 year institutions) with better regulated and tracked job placement-you could even go so far as to offer internships/coops/apprenticeships with local companies or unions to help with job placement once graduated. This keeps people who either shouldn't, can't, or won't go to college from going and racking up large debts while giving them another way to obtain a career that offers a fairly decent living wage (on up to exceedingly good wage depending on field/skills/experience in the case of some vocations such as AMT, welding, or nursing).

      Now, of course there are always some people that don't even have the ability or desire to go through votech schools. In these cases that's where your burger flipping or menial jobs come in, supplemented with a little (or more, depending on situation and actual ability to work) safety net support. Couple in easy to access job retraining programs which tie in to vocational and technical fields so that older people who have been laid off or are otherwise jobless have opportunities to pivot to another field instead of relying on multiple minimum wage jobs or gig economy jobs and you have solved both the jobs issue and the mounting costs of college education.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    9. Re:Retail and Driving by drew_kime · · Score: 1

      >This is not Europe where govt pays for you to go to college

      Doesn't matter because it's a broken assumption to think that college is for everyone.

      That's not the entire answer, but it's a huge part of it. Even if every unemployed person without a college degree were willing and able to get one, that would put downward pressure on salaries for the people they're now competing with.

      --
      Nope, no sig
    10. Re:Retail and Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This is skirting the real issue... Why doesn't someone have better skills than flipping burgers or ringing out customers after 12 years of public education?

      We have lost the value associated with vo-tech education. We are graduating people who can't do simple tax forms or balance a check book. We're letting people loose on society that can't follow the instructions on a box of laundry detergent...

      Public education has fallen apart and, no, funding isn't an issue. We have tons of funding. We also have a social problem that people are overlooking so they can whoop it up for their favored political party. This is what needs to change first. After that we can see how society comes together and make adjustments. Let's stop acting like we're doing our best for our children in those 12 years of already paid for education in an attempt to create a new solution looking for a problem.

    11. Re:Retail and Driving by bfpierce · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure what the suggestion here is.

      Are we trying to say we should halt innovation because little Johnny can't get his ass through a 2 year degree program that costs next to nothing? There's tons of financial support for Community Colleges, lack of money isn't a valid excuse.

    12. Re:Retail and Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The situation you imply has not existed for decades. You must be quite old to believe in it. Go ahead and actually see what is going on. Go apply for money and see what happens. There is a reason why males are ~33% of college graduates and dropping fast.

    13. Re:Retail and Driving by ghoul · · Score: 1

      The issue with this is that in previous years Capitalists had a motive in training people for the new jobs. Now however there are 3rd world nations like India and China training people in colleges for free. It is much easier to go setup a factory in India and China because you have already trained college labor - labor for example who can supervise and fix robots. You can pay much lesser than in the US because these fresh robot techs have no student loans neither are they living in a high cost economy.
      This is made worse for those who lose their middle class jobs in the US as services and trades are very highly paid so even an unemployed factory worker stil has to pay for an expensive plumber while his competition does not.
      If you are going to allow unbridled Globalization the middle class of rich countries will have to become poorer till they are as poor as the middle class of poor countries. The elite of both rich and poor countries are rich. In fact the elite is international they are not tied to a country.
      Else you put some checks on Globalization. Allow enough to let the middle class of poorer countries get rich enough that they are demanding similar wages while during the transition period supporting the middle class of richer countries with some unfree market policies.
      Its not a zero sum game. We do not want to stop Globalization and condemn enttire countries to poverty but at the same time those whose parents have already manged to establish a high standard of living should be given some protection from competition. Raw capitalism always leads to abuses so there is nothing wrong with tempering it with some protectionism.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    14. Re:Retail and Driving by ghoul · · Score: 1

      If you think college is not for everyone and I think their are some skills needed by everyone in todays economy which are only taught at the college level then the obvious solution is to update K-12 schooling to include those skills. Skills like being able to do some programming. Understanding how public media/advertisement works to influence you. Knowing how markets/economies work so that you can save and invest efficiently. If necessary High School could be increased by 2 more years and adulthood could be defined as 21 years. When Humans used to live to 40 a boy became a man at 13. Now that humans live till 70 no harm in redefining adulthood as 21. Also add Pre-K so that by the time kids start Kindergarten they are ready to study and not spending it on Potty training and learning numbers. Make 15 years of education compulsory.
      Include real world internships into the years 11-14 of High School.
      Also encourage people to go work abroad. The Average American High School graduate is still more skilled than vast numbers of foreigners in their countries. They can still contribute. Also meeting new people and cultures will probably encourage them to go back to college or to emigrate permanently. In either case the number of non college graduates goes down.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    15. Re:Retail and Driving by seven+of+five · · Score: 1

      If this goes on the govt. will have to fund college including a living stipend while people made redundant go back to college to learn skills for the new economy.

      Nope. Government-funded college is socialism--the worst evil of all. More US citizens will simply have to cope with poverty, which, though undesirable, is at least ideologically pure. Maybe buy a lottery ticket and dream big!

    16. Re:Retail and Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Public education has fallen apart

      Literacy rates have improved over the last 50 years.

      > We're letting people loose on society that can't follow the instructions on a box of laundry detergent...

      Yet older people expect younger people to help them with tech much more complex than anything related to laundry.

    17. Re:Retail and Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "What did they do before cash registers and cars existed?"

      Farmed.

    18. Re: Retail and Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the zombie spawner, in the dungeon. They also spawn randomly in the dark.

    19. Re:Retail and Driving by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      and cut down college to 2 years for most BA / BS. And have a GED like test to get one as well.

      With the new extended HS taking place of the old AA / AS.

    20. Re:Retail and Driving by ghoul · · Score: 1

      I would suggest

      Lower-Primary - Start as Age 4 - Pre-K, K,Grade 1, Grade 2
      Upper-Primary - Start at Age 8 - Grade 3,4,5,6
      Lower Secondary School - Start at Age 12 - Grade 7,8,9,10 +Point All the human Biology stuff can be left till Grade 7 instead of introducing in Grade 6.
      Upper Secondary School/Vocational School - Start at Age 16 - Grade 11,12,13,14. 50% of the time has to be in internships/apprenticeships/AP classes in High School. 50% in life skills + Point Students are old enough legally to drive and work part time when in high school. No division between upperclassmen who can drive and lowerclass men who cant. Also there can be specialized schools like Sports schools, Carpentry school etc. All schools would share life skills part of the curriculum but the rest would be specific to a school.
      College - 3 year college. Even now the first year of college is spent catching up on stuff which really should be taught in high school. +Point People are 20 by the time they go away to college and a bit more mature and don't freak out too much at college. Also make the age to drink 20. People at college will drink. Encourage respect for the law by not having laws that will be flouted.

      Age to work part time, age to Drive , age of consent 16. Basically when you come to the new High school (Grade 10) you get to fuck,drive and work.
      Also make the age to vote, age to drink , age to enlist 20. When you come to college you get to vote, drink and fight.

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    21. Re:Retail and Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except "protectionism" fails in every single instance it is attempted. Even when unintended. See East Germany - all the massive factories were closed once the wall fell because every single one was obsolete in terms of technology and process control.

    22. Re:Retail and Driving by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Here in Minneapolis, the public school system does have distinct high school programs, depending on what you want to do. My son was in a college-track one, which suited him well. Some programs are designed for people to get jobs after they graduate, without a vo-tech or community college. As far as I can tell, it seems to work.

      However, as long as there are jobs where a college degree is a legitimate plus, you haven't solved the problem of rising college costs.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    23. Re:Retail and Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, depending on your skills and ability to learn, you could move up or down: Canada or Mexico. That's one solution. Low-cost education with good social security on one side, and plenty of cheap labor required on the other.

  11. Finally - IBM suggested this a decade+ ago by ripvlan · · Score: 1

    Even cashiers are being automated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    At one time Walmart pushed vendors to put RFID in all items. They hoped to remove checkout lines - fill your basket and walk out the door.

    Maybe technology has moved that magic step forward. Plus the world is **ready** for this - we've all been using self-checkout stations for awhile now --- and many of us are still waiting in the Thanksgiving lines at Walmart.

    Prime is working for our family. Beyond "Top Gear Two" (TGT :-) The Grand Tour being a favorite - we do buy more. Just click and it arrives - terrific for those things We Need but it isn't worth driving to the store to get them.

    A local grocery store is putting in some kind of "drive in" --- details short at this time. Change is coming.

  12. Yeah, but you should see them in the US by p51d007 · · Score: 2

    I was behind a YOUNG couple at a self checkout in a grocery store. She had TWO items. She scanned the item and it didn't work, then she scanned it 3 more times before it took. Then she LAYS IT BACK on the rubber mat. Scans the 2nd item and of course the machine started complaining about it not being correct. You have to place it IN the sack because that is how it knows. The WEIGHT determines it. When you scan an object, it knows the weight. After she scanned the 2nd item and then placed both in the sack, she sits her purse on the table too. It's starts complaining again. She picks it up, inserts her chipped card, and pulls it out and then inserts it again. I'm sitting there just shaking my head. She then plays with her phone, shows something to her boyfriend and by this time I'm thinking about saying something, but from their youth, and they were wearing college clothes I was thinking if I said something, they would have to run off to their safe space. It amazes me that kids that should be "connected" with all of this tech had that much trouble with a self check out. My mom is in her 80's and handles this stuff like no ones business.

    1. Re:Yeah, but you should see them in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      George HW Bush had a problem at the supermarket and that was WITH someone ringing up the items for him.

    2. Re:Yeah, but you should see them in the US by unixisc · · Score: 2

      This is one of those urban legends. I'm not a Bush fan (any of them), but here is what happened. The cashier scanned a barcode, and Bush was curious about it, which people interpreted as him being totally out of touch. In fact, the barcode that was being scanned was split - either the paper containing the barcode was torn, or something, but the scanner still managed to pick up the details and come up w/ the correct reading. It was that capability that impressed HW and he asked about it. Shouldn't have made any news, but the MSM being the MSM, it did.

    3. Re:Yeah, but you should see them in the US by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 1

      Sssssh,

      Didn't you get the memo? It's time again to be divisive and not tolerate and make fun of presidents. We did have eight years of silence, but that's almost over now.

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    4. Re:Yeah, but you should see them in the US by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Which eight years was that, in which people didn't criticize the President? I'm pretty sure it hasn't been in my lifetime?

      Or are you so biased or blind that the accusations leveled against Obama, including the ACA, foreign policy, etc., didn't register?

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    5. Re:Yeah, but you should see them in the US by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Anybody who criticized Obama for anything was branded a racist. That's not something that was there for previous presidents

    6. Re:Yeah, but you should see them in the US by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Anyone who criticized Bush II was called unpatriotic. I got called a "black propagandist" for disagreeing with the Bush-accepted interpretations of UN Security Council resolutions. In some respects, it's the coolest thing anyone's ever called me, but I digress.

      However, I saw plenty of criticism of Obama, regardless of what the insult du jour for dissenters was. Heck, I criticized the guy myself sometimes.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  13. Seattle has a huge homeless population by PeeAitchPee · · Score: 1
    How are they gonna track those folks who will undoubtedly stop in to "grab and go"? Folks without phones, or who just want to grab stuff and run out?

    </ gets popcorn ready>

    1. Re:Seattle has a huge homeless population by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      This is tied to your Amazon (probably Prime) account (you can't get in otherwise). If you are a bad customer,we lock you out of your account.

      And then you die a slow, unpleasant death. You have no access to bulk toothpaste and clever little bits of Chinese electronics. Not to mention movies and books that no one has ever heard of (for good reason). Or whatever else we tacked onto the Prime subscription last week (I keep forgetting just what it was).

      -- All the best, Jeff.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Seattle has a huge homeless population by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      I am sure that an algorithm will impartially reject potential customers based on impartial criteria....

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    3. Re:Seattle has a huge homeless population by ghoul · · Score: 1

      Cant they just walk in the exit door. If they are planning to break the law with shoplifting I am pretty sure they are not bothered about not going through turnstiles

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
    4. Re:Seattle has a huge homeless population by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It won't take long before people start shooting out the tires of the driverless trucks, breaking in and stealing all the stuff. Thieves will love these things.

    5. Re: Seattle has a huge homeless population by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The driverless truck is bristling with cameras and has an active always on connection to the internet.

  14. No thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm not interested in being tracked like this. I would be interested in a store that just used RFID tags (like this one) and had a simple conveyor belt at the checkout to view the items and RFID codes (to make sure they match). It could auto-bag things, too. It would then ask me for money. I would insert cash, take my change, and leave. Probably less complicated, too.

    You can eliminate cashiers without tracking the hell outta me.

    1. Re:No thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The NSA is currently recording all your phone calls, emails and texts but you're worried about The Man knowing how many bags of Cheetos you're buying?

    2. Re:No thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, I'm worried about my socialist government figuring out how many cigarettes I like to smoke and billing me for additional health care usage.

      What, you think they wouldn't go for it?

    3. Re: No thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are claiming it would be a socialist government that would charge you more for healthcare because you smoke??

  15. Self-driving? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With this kind of description I thought we'd have a moving ttore, roaming around in the streeets at night, preying on unsuspecting customers. Or something along these lines...

    Isn't what is described more like a self-service store?
    Or a "Mass-Surveillance" store if you absolutely need to use catchy buzzwords...

  16. an unlimited student loans get's you to college by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    an unlimited student loans get's you to college and it's very easy to get one.

    1. Re:an unlimited student loans get's you to college by ghoul · · Score: 1

      There are already many people indebted with college debt. If College was a choice then debt makes sense. But if college is no longer a choice and is mandatory to survie then it makes sense for society to pay for it..

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
  17. We need more tech and trade schools like germany! by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    We need more tech and trade schools like Germany! and they have good unions there as well.

  18. ADA or no cell phone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So how does this store meet American's with Disability Act (ADA) or support people who do not have a cell phone?
    While the later might be legal, the former sure is not and ADA does not require person to have cell phone.
    Requiring a person to 'register' is probably illegal for a store in the USA at least.
    And all places are legally required to take cash as payment...so how do some road tolls get away with cashless systems?

  19. ST, please fuck off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When your site is so broken that I have to open up the source and read the article in HTML, you probably shouldn't even be in this industry.

  20. Netherlands has such a system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If i understand the summary correctly ( who reads the article? right? ), it seems we in the Netherlands already have such systems in stores like Albert Heijn (ah.nl). They also have smaller "AH 2 go" stores at trainstations. In both the bigger and smaller stores, you can scan items yourself by barcode. In most stores that I know of there is like 75% self-service (you scan each product, instead of some employee) and 25% normal in the smaller stores. The bigger stores are like 50%/50% I guess.. younger people using the newer system, older people just doing their usual business. I can't say i can really back this up by statistics, but seems reasonably fair to my experiences around the country.

    AH has had the system for 1,5 years now I guess and it works great. Most lines are gone and people seem to understand it after some trying and like it after that. I do see some people chosing the normal line, even though it's a long line with people and only 1 or 2 employees helping them and the 4 automated ones have no line.., they still chose the normal line because i think they are afraid of the new system or they just need something that the automated system cant give them ( maybe 16+ stuff and other regulated products). I buy sigarettes from the employee, because he needs to check for age.

    Also, I wanted to add that when i read the article I was hoping for news that they might have finally implemented some kind of full-store automation with RFID's in each product, which gives a lot more options for tracking inventory among other stuff ( also privacy-invading aspect.. we all know and dont like). Somewhere around 2006 I was invited to a project by Microsoft, Google and other companies where they showed their "Future store" ( in West Germany ) . It had most of the normal activities that people are used to in a regular food/drink/supermarket store, but revisisted from scratch and automated and improved. I couldnt find a link for the Future store concept, but maybe someone else can. It would be awesome to have some of those already proved technologies in the stores today, so we can really move past "waiting in lines" and get some more useful data out of tracking customers ( some balance between tracking/privacy.. ).

    Last thing to add, some examples they had in the Future Store:
    1) Fruit you pick up and put on the machine to determine the weight and cost, is automatically scanned by image recognition to determine the kind of fruit or vedgetable. So the normal buttons are gone and it scans automatically (at least in NL we have a button for each type of product and it will give you the price per weight unit). It could also detect multiple products in different rotations/overlappings etc. . It was fun testing it out and all in all it might be an improvement to the current system.
    2) When you walked through the "alcoholic beverages area" and pick up a certain bottle, it would detect what was picked up (RFID mainly) and showed informatino about the product on the ground (or wall). It didnt seem useful to me and no idea how it would work with multiple people picking bottles.
    3) They had a version of a clothing store where each item would be in some database and linked to a unique RFID code/chip. When entering the store, camera's and other sensors would detect if you are a returning customer and what you bought last time, preferences, among other data. After picking up some t-shirt or product, you would normally try it on and look in a mirror to determine quality/appearance, but the system would show this on a big screen and made a photo of you at certain times in the store ( or some stored photo for regular customers with a profile ) and showed the clothes you just picked up on you as a person. You could rotate and see how it would look like (roughly.. but pretty awesome for the time). They also showed that the inventory would not the difference between: having me pick up the article, "demo wear it" and putting it down again. Everything would be updated automatically.
    4) Last for now; when you got some items

  21. Re:We need more tech and trade schools like german by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That is still school, just a different kind of it. There really are people who cannot or will not succeed in school but can succeed in every other aspect of their life. They shouldn't be swept under the rug of effectively mandatory mass education.

  22. Theft by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    Lol.. good luck with the loss prevention on that.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  23. Poor Need Not Apply by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People with poor credit need not apply either. No cash, no credit card, no purchases when the power dies. You can't even get into the store without a smartphone with a data plan. What other data is their app copying from your device? Oh, and it costs you money for the privilege of letting them data mine you as you'll need to fork over for Amazon Prime for access. A store with this much computer vision can/will be making very detailed 3D profiles of you. It's Amazon's data. They'll be free to do whatever they want with it.

    I'm fine with improving the efficiency of grocery stores and putting millions out of work and into poverty (all those non-teens employees you see at the store will be screwed. Sucks, but we don't go around smashing windows to keep profits of glass manufactures up), but please do it without all the data mining and bullshit subscription requirements. If not, I'll fight you all the way.

    They didn't mention how you'd correct checkout errors. Just like the big ISPs, some banks, and shady companies make tons of billing errors in their favor, I won't trust automated billing unless they provide a clear way to dispute your bill and a way to see the bill update in real-time as you're selecting items. It shouldn't be difficult to put LED displays on all the shelving and show you your running total and item count.

    Oh, and Amazon is a horrible company. They vastly overwork their employees, engage in shady business practices (lying about Prime's 2-Day shipping guarantee, putting vetting options after the date most employees quit from burnout, randomly restricting items to Prime only, etc...), and their warehouse contractors are basically slave laborers. If a non-Amazon, non-Walmart company wants to build stores like this I may visit those. I won't visit a physical Amazon store.

  24. "Unknown item in bagging area" by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    How would this system resolve the annoyances of existing self-checkout? What happens if your cart includes a bottle of wine or a head of lettuce? Could it sanely handle very light items or large and heavy items?

  25. Re:We need more tech and trade schools like german by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    yes but they need not be 2-4-6+ years long. also hands on is an much better fit then 4+ years of Prue class room for people who have a hard time in school / for jobs / rolls where you really don't learn that well by cramming for tests.

  26. RFID countermeausures by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    "Alexa, on what aisle can I find aluminum foil?"

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  27. If two people are standing next to each other by machinerebel · · Score: 1

    How can they tell who picked up the item?

  28. problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    so what happens if there's a tag that says 30% sale of an item, but the system doesn't have it updated?
    Who do you talk to in order to dispute, question?
    How can you check the receipt total and make sure everything is correct and who do you talk to if there's a mistake?
    How do you handle refunds?

  29. maybe some kind of badge systems to fill the gaps by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    maybe some kind of badge systems to fill the gaps.

    Right the boot camps and certs really don't add up to any thing.

    The College accreditation system can use some change. The tech/trade schools have accreditation that is more open to faster changes but did not crack down as much as they should of.

    The non tech/trade schools have accreditation that makes it hard to do fast updates to class content and does not crack down on the transfer mess and joke classes for student athletes. Minor leagues for football and basketball can go a long way in fixing that.

    When student-athletes spend more than 40 hours a week on the team they don't have time for class and The team travel schedule makes them miss a lot of class as well.

  30. Priceing errors? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    What happens when the bill is higher then the posted price do you need go through a big refund paperwork chain? vs just telling the cashier that wrong price came up. Also in laws say they must give you the lower posted price and they can't say the price went up and we do not up date the posted price till end of the day but our on line rules say we can up the price at check out.

  31. This seems very different by ripvlan · · Score: 1

    I don't think there's a checkout in this model. You just fill your bag and walk out.

    The self-service pay stations are a temp solution until they can be removed. IBM ran an ad in the 1990's that predicted the future for RFID technology - just grab items and walk out. Walmart tried to do it - requiring vendors to place RFID in all items. I don't know why the Walmart initiative failed.

    Maybe technology has made the important step forward.

    But you're correct - this is a labor saving initiative. People will be replaced by machines. Those new jobs? Robots. Here they come.

    1. Re: This seems very different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Too expensive. The company I worked for at the time (large printing) tried playing around with printing RFID tags right into product labels, but at around 5 cents per tag, it eas too pricey. Walmat wanted something like a tenth of that cost.

  32. Self Driving Convenience Store? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For a second I thought Amazon was trying to put their Kiva robots on the road, delivering a convenience store to a picker/customer. Like a roving 7-11. Actually, 7-11 in japan does have mobile truck mounted convenience stores for disaster ops, so making a self driving version with self-checkout is not that big a leap. Now the vending machines chase you?

  33. Tag all the itmes by aNonnyMouseCowered · · Score: 1

    The simple (TM) solution is to tag all products on display, then bill the customer for whatever he takes out of the store. The amount is deducted from a pre-registered credit or debit payment account. An alternative is to have a display terminal near the exit that will alert the customer on the items he is about to bring out, absent-mindedly or not. The customer then has the chance to return any items taken by mistake (he will still not be liable for shoplifting since he's still inside the store) or to call for the assistance of store staff if there's an error in the items scanned by the auto-checkout system

    1. Re:Tag all the itmes by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Currently, with a checkout station, I've got a list of items to be purchased, and I can examine the pricing as it goes on. At the end, there's a total price that I explicitly pay. If there's a problem, I can bring it up on the spot, and, if it isn't resolved on the spot, I can simply refuse to purchase the item involved.

      With any sort of out-the-door scan, if the store screws up in any way, it's going to be difficult to challenge. It may be difficult to detect. If there's a listed sale that's not in the system for some reason, I'm likely to miss it. I'd much rather make an itemized and formal transaction out of paying.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  34. Re: We have those already in the US. Other places by eionmac · · Score: 1

    And some who die from it!
    Shoplifter/thief in watch store in Africa switched watches from cheap to expensive and left store (paid for cheap one) assistent saw it , chased with a meat cleaver, cut of parts of thief. I watched. Took note, and always in the open market thereafter paid openly with no hidden discount.

    --
    Regards Eion MacDonald
  35. Especially convenient by jtgd · · Score: 1

    Especially convenient for those jobless folks whose job was replaced by automation. Gives them more time to look for that job that will never come.

    --
    J