[joe_the_user]

I tend to agree with the article that mobile payments and such don't feel like they provide much value.

If there are system allowed people to walk into stores and just take stuff without waiting in line, the time savings would be huge. But the time spent in actually physically swiping a credit card is minimal so even once the glitches are gone, the payoff in convenience is mediocre at best.

[rm_-rf_slash]

Why can't we have this:

Mobile phones + barcode scanners + CCTV + object/facial recognition = convenient shopping experience where you can pick up what you need, scan it, and walk out having paid by phone. CCTV algorithms can flag potential shoplifters or shoppers who forgot to scan certain items. If it can be pulled off then it could mean fewer people working checkout and less spending on bags.

But, on the other hand, even "automated" checkout isn't terribly convenient: the exciting game of multiple scales slows your scanning process to a crawl compared to the checkout line and they still have people standing over and watching to watch for shoplifting and process alcohol purchases.

I worked in a grocery store a while ago and while I understand some needs I still don't get why there hasn't been any real innovation since the adoption of barcode readers. Could anyone please explain why in-store automation is always one step forward two steps back?

[joe_the_user]

I suspect such a system would be harder to create than one would think. Face recognition seems like it's always to going to be too glitchy to guarantee the smooth operation of a "pick it and leave" system. My guess is that the smoothest functioning system would involve rfid's or the equivalent which signal that they were close to a given shopper. Prius and other autos already have doors that unlock only when someone is carrying the key-dongle. And clever ways to hack these system are already here too (amplifiers, for example).

[CaptainZapp]

One very good reason for me to never, ever enter into such a scheme is the same why I would never, ever have a loyalty card.

To me it's totally unacceptable that my supermarket chain has a line-by-line record of my purchases, which it then happily sells to the highest bidder.

Is the few potential minutes saved really worth the fact that your insurer now may have a detailed record about your booze and junk food purchases?

[jessaustin]

If you could build the rest of it, scanning could be replaced easily by RFID. I think some packaging already includes RFID.