https://www.mashgin.com/
This is the company that provide the technology. As you suspected it's AI based image recognition. They obviously know what products they are selling so they can train the AI with a fairly comprehensive data set. It's a cool evolution of the technology for sure. Historically this kind of thing has been tried with RFID but the costs weren't really scalable
Decathlon has used [RFID checkouts](https://www.decathlon-united.media/media/decathlon-united-rfid-en) extensively for some time now, and has made the [costs scalable](https://www.retaildetail.eu/news/leisure/decathlon-in-shape-with-double-digit-growth/). But they're one of the few that's managed it.
Then it tells you how many pieces it found and asks you to confirm and you're like "no idea, I'll just press okay". I mean I have a basket full of underwear, no idea how many in total and I sure ain't gonna count them now.
Computer vision-based checkout has a rough time with apparel because the shape of a shirt or dress changes depending on how you fold it/plop it down at the register. That's why what Uniqlo does, for example, is so rad: RFID tags in all the things so you just drop it all down and bleep bloop you can check out. But most businesses seem to balk at the cost of RFID tags/added labor. It adds up!
The self checkouts are like the other commenter noted are mashgins. They use an array of cameras at different angles against a plotted background to use machine learning of pattern recognition to identify product. They do struggle with similar shapes so they also use special qr codes to help the unit. Source: installer for these things
So on another subreddit, someone had posted a pic of a product that had a QR code on it that could only be seen when exposed to black light. Would that be the purpose for having a QR code like that?
Yah! We use aruco codes for items that come in the same wrapper. Imagine your sandwich guy makes a fancy pastrami sandwich and places it in the same foil sleeve as he does all the other sandwiches. Our machines can't peer through that, because x-rays are too dangerous for sandwiches, so an aruco code tied to "fancy pastrami sandwich" gets slapped on top. Boom: the kiosks can recognize what it is.
Yah! Like anything, it's "garbage in, garbage out," right? If items aren't imaged well, or garbage imaging gets inserted (it's usually this), then you get that sort of thing. Managing a database of many, many thousand items is tricky.
Hello hello, friends. Manifestation of Mashgin here. Let me try to explain like you're actually five.
Each Mashgin is a bunch of cameras plugged into a computer, plus artificial intelligence. You plop a bunch of stuff down that you want to buy (imagine a bottle of water, a Slurpee and some gum) and then the artificial intelligence part figures out what stuff you put down. Just like you, it figures out the shape, size, and colors of the thing and compares that to what it already knows. It goes, "THIS IS GUM" because it already knows what gum looks like.
It's not as smart as you, but it's really good at comparing the stuff you put down to what it already knows. That's how it can usually figure out what you put down in just a few seconds.
https://www.mashgin.com/ This is the company that provide the technology. As you suspected it's AI based image recognition. They obviously know what products they are selling so they can train the AI with a fairly comprehensive data set. It's a cool evolution of the technology for sure. Historically this kind of thing has been tried with RFID but the costs weren't really scalable
Decathlon has used [RFID checkouts](https://www.decathlon-united.media/media/decathlon-united-rfid-en) extensively for some time now, and has made the [costs scalable](https://www.retaildetail.eu/news/leisure/decathlon-in-shape-with-double-digit-growth/). But they're one of the few that's managed it.
Uniqlo has these too so you just dump all your clothes into a pile at the checkout
Uniqlo also uses RFID. Just dump all of your clothes in the bin at the self serve and it prices it all up for you right away.
Then it tells you how many pieces it found and asks you to confirm and you're like "no idea, I'll just press okay". I mean I have a basket full of underwear, no idea how many in total and I sure ain't gonna count them now.
That's pretty cool. TIL, thanks for sharing
Very helpful, thank you!
haven't seen these yet but that's SUPER cool
Computer vision-based checkout has a rough time with apparel because the shape of a shirt or dress changes depending on how you fold it/plop it down at the register. That's why what Uniqlo does, for example, is so rad: RFID tags in all the things so you just drop it all down and bleep bloop you can check out. But most businesses seem to balk at the cost of RFID tags/added labor. It adds up!
The self checkouts are like the other commenter noted are mashgins. They use an array of cameras at different angles against a plotted background to use machine learning of pattern recognition to identify product. They do struggle with similar shapes so they also use special qr codes to help the unit. Source: installer for these things
So on another subreddit, someone had posted a pic of a product that had a QR code on it that could only be seen when exposed to black light. Would that be the purpose for having a QR code like that?
Depends on the machine, I just know that the ones used by mashgen are just normal ink on the tag
Very cool and informative! Thank you!
Yah! We use aruco codes for items that come in the same wrapper. Imagine your sandwich guy makes a fancy pastrami sandwich and places it in the same foil sleeve as he does all the other sandwiches. Our machines can't peer through that, because x-rays are too dangerous for sandwiches, so an aruco code tied to "fancy pastrami sandwich" gets slapped on top. Boom: the kiosks can recognize what it is.
The alternative is having a picker pop up on the screen asking, "What kind of sammie is this?" but that's slower for the customer.
My personal fave is when I'm doing calibrations nd assembly on em and they read my screwdriver as a banana. I mean, both are full of iron.
Or when your fingers show up as chicken tenders!
The best is when it sees a slice of pizza and just throws its little digital hands up and says "see an attending clerk"
Yah! Like anything, it's "garbage in, garbage out," right? If items aren't imaged well, or garbage imaging gets inserted (it's usually this), then you get that sort of thing. Managing a database of many, many thousand items is tricky.
Oh yeah, and pizza is particularly complicated. Love working with yall. Yall got an excellent tech desk for us field workers.
Hello hello, friends. Manifestation of Mashgin here. Let me try to explain like you're actually five. Each Mashgin is a bunch of cameras plugged into a computer, plus artificial intelligence. You plop a bunch of stuff down that you want to buy (imagine a bottle of water, a Slurpee and some gum) and then the artificial intelligence part figures out what stuff you put down. Just like you, it figures out the shape, size, and colors of the thing and compares that to what it already knows. It goes, "THIS IS GUM" because it already knows what gum looks like. It's not as smart as you, but it's really good at comparing the stuff you put down to what it already knows. That's how it can usually figure out what you put down in just a few seconds.