SmartShoppingCart
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Caper's smart shopping cart uses AI to skip checkout lines
From cashierless Amazon Go stores to Walmart's self-driving vans for food drop-offs, tech is revolutionizing grocery shopping with an emphasis on speed and convenience. Now a lesser-known startup is entering the fray with its AI-powered shopping carts that could put an end to bothersome checkout lines at your local store.
SK Telecom's Smart Cart syncs to phones, reminds you to buy milk
Familiar with this scenario? You put off grocery shopping until the weekend, curse your way through the irate Sunday morning hordes, and then schlep your food all the way home only to realize you forgot to buy dish soap and use those coupons. Good thing, then, that SK Telecom is trialing a new service that syncs items from a smartphone app -- like a shopping list -- to its tablet PC-equipped Smart Cart. Hailed by the company as the first of its kind, this real-time aide uses indoor positioning to provide product info, tips and discounts while you peruse those crowded aisles. The WiFi-connected in-cart display also makes use of augmented reality, offering coupon clippers a high-tech solution for their cost-cutting predilections. If the current pilot test in China's Shanghai Lotus Supermarkets proves a success, expect to see this "personalized smart shopping service" doling out recommendations based on purchase history and location. Hear that? That's the sound of marketers licking their hyper targeting chops. Full PR is after break.
Another failed smart shopping cart concept shown off by EDS
At this point we've seen so many variations on the "smart shopping cart" concept bubble up and fail we're pretty jaded, but the latest version, from Electronic Data Systems, seems like it almost maybe has a chance. Unlike previous concepts, the EDS model is built around the humble bar code: swiping items as you place them in your cart lets you keep a running tally of nutritional information, ethical sourcing, and environmental impact, letting you modify your purchasing decisions simply and quickly. Keeping it simple might be the winning strategy here, but we're not going to be convinced until the carts at our local can do more than just veer straight left.[Via Vegetarian Organic Blog]
