Equipped with smart voice aids .. and shopping carts that can recognize purchases

"Amazon" opens a grocery store that is managed by computers and "mobile" applications

The new "Amazon Fresh" store is the second in the chain of restaurants and automated stores established by "Amazon". From the source

Amazon has recently opened the first grocery store for fresh vegetables and fruits in the United States. It is fully automated via computers and mobile phone applications. It is marketed remotely via the Internet or physically from within it using smart digital voice assistants instead of workers. And employees, to help customers find what they want from the goods, put them in smart shopping trolleys that recognize the customer’s mobile phone and what he has purchased of goods, then pay for them wirelessly or "contactless" while shopping without a payment safe, to be filled and delivered to him. At the service desk at the exit door, or at his car door when moving out of the waiting areas.

Amazon Fresh

The company stated that the new store "Amazon Fresh" is located in the "Woodland Hills" neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, and is the second in a chain of restaurants and automated stores that the company has set up, after the "Amazon Go" restaurant, which it launched two years ago in San Francisco.

An unprecedented experience

"The new grocery store is designed from the ground up to provide an unprecedented, seamless shopping experience, whether consumers are shopping in the store or online," Jeff Hellling, vice president of the "Amazon Fresh Store" sector, said in a statement posted on the official blog of "Amazon". With free delivery service on the same day for subscribers to the "Amazon Prime" service.

New technology

Helpling indicated that the store relies on a new technology called "Amazon Dash Card", which is different from what was previously used in the "Amazon Go" store in Seattle and elsewhere, explaining that the new technology helps in making a quick shopping trip, as customers log in using Their "Fresh QR" QR code in the "Amazon" application that works through the mobile phone, then they use one of the store's shopping carts, to put what they buy in the cart that uses computer vision algorithms, and has built-in sensors to identify the items placed By the vehicle, its types, quantities and prices.

Helpling added that after completing the shopping, the customer passes through the "Dash Card" corridor to complete the payment process automatically, while the goods are prepared in packages that are received at the service desk, or are directed to receive at the car door, in a place designated for that when leaving the parking lot. the shop.

«Alexa» for help

Helpling stated that there is a large collection of Alexa digital voice assistants in the store, distributed carefully on the shelves and between the corridors, for customers to talk to, when they need help, where the customer can say, "Hello Alexa, where can I find the tomatoes and what is their price?" Alexa would answer him and guide him to the answer, pointing out that Alexa's digital assistants work as an alternative for human workers to answer questions.

Computer Vision

Helpling pointed out that the "Amazon Dash Card" technology in which the new store works is different from the "Walkout" technology in which the "Amazon Go" store in Seattle works, indicating that the difference is that the "Walkout" technology depends on a series of Overhead cameras and pressure-sensitive shelves, to automatically discover what customers buy, which allows them to choose the items, then buy them and pay for them as soon as they leave the store, and they are in their hands without any procedures, while the new technology depends on the sensors and the vision system in the computer in the shopping cart, then systems Contactless payment, then pass purchases to the place of packing and processing.

Safety measures

The company "Amazon" confirmed that it followed the safety and prevention measures against the "Corona" epidemic in its new store "Amazon Fresh", as it provided it with tools to measure temperatures when customers entered and during their tour, and provided realistic plastic face covers, which everyone who enters the store can get free of charge. To be used for one time, in addition to operating the store at 50% of its capacity, to facilitate the application of social distancing measures and avoid crowding.

It stated that entering the store is currently under special prior invitations, which must be obtained by e-mail, for subscribers to the services of "Amazon" in the store area, indicating that the situation will continue as such for several weeks, before the store doors are opened to the general public, and the system of pre-invitations is canceled. .