Sensor Fusion

Everyone knows how a point-of-sale system works. Stand in line, unpack items to the counter, and scan them for checkout. The process is tied together by that magic technology, the barcode scanner. With one tiny laser light, hundreds of items an hour can be accurately tallied and sold. In reality the barcode scan is only one of an array of sensors all working together, with weight sensors in the hands, item identifiers in the eyes, and learning algorithms in the brain of the cashier that recognizes when pricing patterns don't fit the items. Brick-and-mortar retailers have the ultimate VR showroom, with reality minus the virtual, but little of the consumer tracking visibility of the online stores. This is where sensor fusion finally comes to retail, and things are changing quickly. Amazon's Go store was a leader, with a whole bevy of sensors revamping the shopping experience. The Go store was the starting line, with almost every major US retailer implementing advanced store concepts.