4 ms·

Here's an ad from IBM circa 2006 predicting(?) this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob532iEpqk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob532iEpqk Crazy to think we'

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

chinathrow 10y ago
"Sensor fusion" could very well imply that RFID could be within the picture.
- rkangel 10y ago
  Or even just a strain gauge weight detection on the shelf combined with computer vision.
space_ghost 10y ago
Came here to post this, as I immediately thought of IBM's ad while I was reading Amazon's bumf. I think I would trust IBM's RFID tags vastly more than Amazon's visual tracking.
softbuilder 10y ago
It's actually from the 90s [1]. So much so that I thought it was one of the AT&T "You Will" commercials [2]. [1] http://digest.dx3canada.com/2015/05/12/retrofuture-ibms-1999-forgotten-receipt-commercial-imagines-rfid-matrix-style/ http://digest.dx3canada.com/2015/05/12/retrofuture-ibms-1999... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2EgfkhC1eo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2EgfkhC1eo
- blackaspen 10y ago
  Glad to know I wasn't alone in thinking it was an AT&T one...that's what I searched for first. Those were the 80s though, right?
  - softbuilder 10y ago
    1993. I had to look: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Will https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Will And David Fincher? Wow. No idea.
danpalmer 10y ago
I saw a fully working demo of this at IBM in 2010. It was fully RFID, plus E-Ink pricing labels on shelves so that prices/offers could be updated remotely.
lavezzi 10y ago
I saw an article on the BBC this week, strange timing but maybe someone knew about the Amazon announcement: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38174011 http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38174011
Animats 10y ago
I've been expecting that for years. RFID tags capable of being read without collisions were expensive back then and needed a battery. There were problems with reading many tags at once. Those problems have apparently been solved.[1] I suspect that Amazon has RFID tags on everything in addition to the vision systems. There are existing backup vision systems for retail checkouts, such as LaneHawk. Most of the components for this already exist. Now it's here. [1] http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/8475.pdf http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/8475.pdf

chinathrow 10y ago

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

rkangel 10y ago
Or even just a strain gauge weight detection on the shelf combined with computer vision.

space_ghost 10y ago

Came here to post this, as I immediately thought of IBM's ad while I was reading Amazon's bumf. I think I would trust IBM's RFID tags vastly more than Amazon's visual tracking.

softbuilder 10y ago

It's actually from the 90s [1]. So much so that I thought it was one of the AT&T "You Will" commercials [2]. [1] http://digest.dx3canada.com/2015/05/12/retrofuture-ibms-1999-forgotten-receipt-commercial-imagines-rfid-matrix-style/ http://digest.dx3canada.com/2015/05/12/retrofuture-ibms-1999... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2EgfkhC1eo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2EgfkhC1eo

blackaspen 10y ago
Glad to know I wasn't alone in thinking it was an AT&T one...that's what I searched for first. Those were the 80s though, right?
- softbuilder 10y ago
  1993. I had to look: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Will https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Will And David Fincher? Wow. No idea.

danpalmer 10y ago

I saw a fully working demo of this at IBM in 2010. It was fully RFID, plus E-Ink pricing labels on shelves so that prices/offers could be updated remotely.

lavezzi 10y ago

I saw an article on the BBC this week, strange timing but maybe someone knew about the Amazon announcement: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38174011 http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38174011

Animats 10y ago

I've been expecting that for years. RFID tags capable of being read without collisions were expensive back then and needed a battery. There were problems with reading many tags at once. Those problems have apparently been solved.[1] I suspect that Amazon has RFID tags on everything in addition to the vision systems. There are existing backup vision systems for retail checkouts, such as LaneHawk. Most of the components for this already exist. Now it's here. [1] http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/8475.pdf http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/8475.pdf