Walmart introduced to AI camera technology store

Wal-Mart, a large retail brand in the United States, has introduced a camera-based tracking error prevention tracking system using AI in more than 1,000 stores.

Cameras are installed in both the self-portrait and conventional cash registers. If the product is passed through the scanner without being settled at the cash register, the tracking system notifies the person in charge. Employees can intervene before customers leave the store.

Most unsettled products are caused by forgetting to pay or mistakes in charge of the cashier. However, according to the National Retailers Association’s NRF survey, US retailers lost 1.33% of their total income in 2017 due to such settlement problems. If you say 1.33%, you might think it’s not a big deal, but in terms of amount, it amounts to 47 billion dollars. This number, on a Wal-Mart scale, is expected to cost over $4 billion.

Wal-Mart spent more than $500 million three years ago to prevent crime in stores and parking lots. It is said that it was two years ago that the technology to prevent settlement errors began to be deployed, and the stores where the system was installed showed steady results. System development was undertaken by Irish technology company Everseen. The combination of AI computer vision system and big data is said to be able to detect unusual behaviors or other problematic behaviors of guests.

It is natural that surveillance cameras are installed in distribution stores. However, monitoring by adding security cameras to AI is hardly found in general stores unless a structure like Amazon Go is introduced where the settlement is completed just by putting the product in the customer.

From the customer’s point of view, there is nothing to be embarrassed about because it is something that can be settled at the general cash register and out of the store as before, and they do not feel the perception that AI is monitoring it. However, it may be a little worrisome whether or not AI is becoming thorough about surveillance privacy using camera images. Wal-Mart does not accurately disclose the retention period of monitoring data.

According to Evergreen CEO Alan O’Herlihy, milk is the product with the most settlement mistakes. Milk in the United States is often sold in sizes from 1 liter to 1 gallon, meaning 3.7 liters. Perhaps because it is bothersome to pass through the cash register, it often happens without scanning. Related information can be found here .