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> Not quite AI, but getting there, are the self checkouts slowly replacing front line cashiers, etc. There's some AI involved at some retailers - I bought 2 id

> Not quite AI, but getting there, are the self checkouts slowly replacing front line cashiers, etc. There's some AI involved at some retailers - I bought 2 identical items and the second wouldn't scan at the self checkout, so I grabbed the first item and scanned it again, and the camera-watching, object-detection system threw a fit (and played back the video of me). I had to call a human to complete my purchase. My suspicion is it is smart enough to detect that I moved an "unscanned" item from my basket item into the bagging area, but not smart enough to figure out I wasn't trying to cheat.

danaris 1y ago
Wegmans recently introduced carts with built-in scanners and scales to allow you to scan as you shop—I really like them overall, and use them every time I go there (which is only once every few months; it's 45 minutes away), even though I often need to get a second, regular cart to offload some of my bags to partway through shopping. The one problem I've had with them is that they have a tendency to get confused if you try to scan more than one of the same thing in a row, and occasionally I'll have to go through quite a bit of trouble to make sure that I do pay for the 3rd item, and not just the first two...
utyop22 1y ago
Do you shop in Sainsburys in the UK by any chance? This has happened to me too.
bojan 1y ago
That sounds dystopic and I'm not sure it'd even be legal where I live. Here they simply have a + button so you can set the amount of the item. No need to scan all of them.
- Incipient 1y ago
  The problem with the + button, is a user has two yoghurts, so scans and hits the + as they're both $2. The problem is that one was blueberry and once was strawberry. Forcing users to scan everything fixes that but at least. Making the users take longer isn't a concern of the shop.
  - Gud 1y ago
    But those items aren’t identical and should be scanned separately.
rancar2 1y ago
I’m in Portugal at the moment and went to their version of Target using Sensei [1] technology. I was with my little one who was grabbing things off the shelves while I put them back, and I was using a stroller not a store cart. The system worked flawlessly including consumed cafe purchases (coffee, pastry, and bread) along with per kg fruits and vegetables. One of the odd benefits is that I felt a bit safer with my little one roaming freely as I knew he was being carefully watched. [1] https://www.sensei.tech/ https://www.sensei.tech/
- rightbyte 1y ago
  Those cameras are not there for the benefit of your toddler. How can some big corp. recording and processing what he does possibly make you feel a bit safer?
StopDisinfo910 1y ago
These systems are often far more stupid than you think. A lot of them just block themselves if they think your hands went somewhere they shouldn't be and defer to a human then.

danaris 1y ago

Wegmans recently introduced carts with built-in scanners and scales to allow you to scan as you shop—I really like them overall, and use them every time I go there (which is only once every few months; it's 45 minutes away), even though I often need to get a second, regular cart to offload some of my bags to partway through shopping. The one problem I've had with them is that they have a tendency to get confused if you try to scan more than one of the same thing in a row, and occasionally I'll have to go through quite a bit of trouble to make sure that I do pay for the 3rd item, and not just the first two...

utyop22 1y ago

Do you shop in Sainsburys in the UK by any chance? This has happened to me too.

bojan 1y ago

That sounds dystopic and I'm not sure it'd even be legal where I live. Here they simply have a + button so you can set the amount of the item. No need to scan all of them.

Incipient 1y ago
The problem with the + button, is a user has two yoghurts, so scans and hits the + as they're both $2. The problem is that one was blueberry and once was strawberry. Forcing users to scan everything fixes that but at least. Making the users take longer isn't a concern of the shop.
- Gud 1y ago
  But those items aren’t identical and should be scanned separately.

rancar2 1y ago

I’m in Portugal at the moment and went to their version of Target using Sensei [1] technology. I was with my little one who was grabbing things off the shelves while I put them back, and I was using a stroller not a store cart. The system worked flawlessly including consumed cafe purchases (coffee, pastry, and bread) along with per kg fruits and vegetables. One of the odd benefits is that I felt a bit safer with my little one roaming freely as I knew he was being carefully watched. [1] https://www.sensei.tech/ https://www.sensei.tech/

rightbyte 1y ago
Those cameras are not there for the benefit of your toddler. How can some big corp. recording and processing what he does possibly make you feel a bit safer?

StopDisinfo910 1y ago

These systems are often far more stupid than you think. A lot of them just block themselves if they think your hands went somewhere they shouldn't be and defer to a human then.