The idea of supermarkets without any cashiers is becoming more popular. Recently, Amazon their first cashier-free store where there are no queues or register. Other companies, though, go another direction. A great example is the product, made by Panasonic.
This tech company created a shopping cart that could totally replace a cashier in any supermarket. According to Wall Street Journal, the cart is able to automatically scan all groceries, count the bill and even bag all items, while the customers are paying for the groceries with a credit card. Everything that customers will have to do is place the basket on the cashier counter. After that, the bottom of the basket opens and all products will subtly fall into a plastic bag.
This hi-tech “cashier” looks like a regular shopping basket and customers probably wouldn’t even know that it’s actually a robot. The device is currently being tested at the Lawson supermarket chain in Osaka, Japan. Right now, the smart shopping cart isn’t used at full capacity – customers still scan the groceries by themselves. However, the management from Lawson assures that from the next year the baskets will do that as well.
According to Panasonic representatives, this product wasn’t designed to get rid of human employees. Its main purpose is to provide customers with quick, easy and efficient service.
Hi-Tech Shopping Basket
