Nuked Amazon is expanding its real-world footprint with a shopping cart. The dash cart, as it’s called, is in fact a smart version of the food transport vehicle.
When you’re done shopping, you’re allowed to take the cart through a special lane that checks you out digitally. It’s equipped with a touchscreen and other various various hardware components to detect what items you’re placing inside and even how many of those items you’ve picked off the shelf.
Amazon has developed Alexa-powered products, including microwaves and wall clocks. These efforts are now resulting in hybrid products that bridge the digital and physical.
The store, first confirmed last year, is not an Amazon go store. It does not have the cameras, sensors, and other equipment built into the ceiling. The physical space is n’t yet open to the public.
The go grocery in Seattle is on the smaller side, while the new woodland hills location is reportedly at the site of a former toys’R” us. There’s also the privacy question, and whether the go format’s tracking and surveillance approach is maybe not as palatable as a smart shopping cart.
Amazon is n’t ready to use the dash cart technology beyond low-key grocery trips. So the device can handle up to two bags of items, but it ca n’t do a full cart yet.
Amazon’s Dilip Kumar, the company’s vice president of physical retail and technology, tells the verge everything else is fair game. The dash cart has a ring of cameras, a scale, and computer vision and weight sensors to determine the amount of the item.
The cart also has a coupon scanner built in and supports Amazon’s Alexa shopping lists feature. It also supports the Alexa shopping list feature.
