Rumor: Microsoft is working on technology for use in cashless stores
According to sources of the Reuters news agency, Microsoft is working on a technique that can be used to track what people are doing in a store. This technique would lend itself to application in shops without cash registers.
The press office spoke with six people who state that the technique is meant for cashless shops. It is a system that keeps track of what people in the store are taking out of the shelves and putting in their shopping cart. Microsoft would be busy showing the technology to stores around the world. Three sources claim that the company from Redmond in the past has spoken with the big American store chain Walmart. These discussions were about a possible collaboration. Whether or not something has come out is unclear.
The sources also indicate that the work on technology mainly takes place under the Microsoft Business AI department, in which a group of ten to fifteen people work on in-store techniques. The company would also work on adding cameras to shopping trolleys to keep track of which products people are bringing.
Microsoft would not be the first company to work on this type of technology. For example, Amazon opened a physical, cashless store in Seattle early this year under the name Amazon Go. Sensors in the ceiling keep an eye on which customers are coming in and what they pack, and then automatically calculate via an Amazon Go app, to which a payment method is linked.
The sources also indicate that the work on technology mainly takes place under the Microsoft Business AI department, in which a group of ten to fifteen people work on in-store techniques. The company would also work on adding cameras to shopping trolleys to keep track of which products people are bringing.
Microsoft would not be the first company to work on this type of technology. For example, Amazon opened a physical, cashless store in Seattle early this year under the name Amazon Go. Sensors in the ceiling keep an eye on which customers are coming in and what they pack, and then automatically calculate via an Amazon Go app, to which a payment method is linked.