We Stole Tampons from the Cashier-less Amazon Go Store
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2018-05-06
·
2,303 words · ~11 min read
0:00
Okay, so picture this.
0:01
Your SO's got a feminine hygiene emergency
0:04
and cannot leave the house
0:05
to get her own bio-waste management products.
0:08
So, it's on you.
0:11
But you do not feel like going to the local grocery store
0:14
and listening to the cashier
0:16
making that stale joke about your Aunt Flo.
0:18
So what's the solution?
0:20
Well, for us, it was to get in the car,
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drive two and a half hours down to Seattle,
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and visit the Amazon Go pilot location,
0:30
the world's only retail store
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where you do not have to have
0:34
any human interaction whatsoever.
0:37
You just grab what you want,
0:39
put it in your bag, and leave.
0:42
But what's the experience like?
0:44
Well, we're gonna tell you
0:47
after we tell you about TunnelBear,
0:49
the easy-to-use VPN that makes the internet
0:52
a more open place,
0:54
giving everyone access to the same content.
0:56
Check them out at TunnelBear.com slash LTT.
0:59
We'll have that linked below.
1:10
Okay, so step one is to get the Amazon Go app.
1:12
Once you're signed into your account,
1:13
you don't need Prime.
1:15
This QR code right here allows you to scan in
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any guests that are with you,
1:18
though do note that anything they take
1:21
will be charged to your account,
1:22
and then enter the store.
1:24
You can't get in without your phone,
1:26
but Amazon says that handy-dandy Amazon staff members
1:30
will be on hand with charging banks
1:32
if, for whatever reason, you need to juice up
1:34
before you go in.
1:35
So let's try it.
1:38
Whoo!
1:41
I'm in.
1:43
Okay, we're inside.
1:45
So it kinda looks like a regular grocery store.
1:52
So how does it work?
1:55
Amazon isn't being too specific about the details,
1:58
but we do know a few things.
2:00
One is that the place is absolutely peppered with cameras.
2:06
See those black boxes up there?
2:08
There are literally hundreds of cameras
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inside what is only an 1,800-square-foot store.
2:13
According to one article I read,
2:15
they are designed to read camera-friendly codes
2:19
that are printed out on each of the items,
2:20
but these just look like regular UPC codes,
2:24
so I'm actually not sure about that.
2:26
What we do know is that while it was present
2:29
in the original patent filing,
2:30
RFID technology is not being used,
2:34
and we also know that they are using
2:35
computer vision algorithms in order to understand
2:39
what you're picking up,
2:40
and they're also assisting this technology
2:43
with additional sensors,
2:45
like, for example, weight sensors in the shelves themselves,
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pressure sensors, and load cells.
2:51
Each of those components together
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increases Amazon's confidence in what exactly it is
2:58
that you have picked up and put in your bag
3:01
or your pocket or whatever the case may be.
3:04
So in terms of product mix and pricing,
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it's not like a giant grocery store.
3:08
Like, you can't even buy a full gallon
3:10
of milk or anything like that,
3:12
but, I mean, it's pretty competitive
3:13
with what you'd expect from, like, a neighborhood grocer
3:17
or, like, a corner store.
3:19
Like, this curried chicken wrap is six bucks.
3:21
Whoa, this is interesting.
3:23
So these food items, these are marked
3:26
with those camera-recognizable codes
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that I was talking about before,
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because I guess, you know, if it doesn't come in a package,
3:33
it's a lot harder to tell the difference
3:35
between curried chicken wrap and tuna wrap.
3:40
Ooh, BK, BKLT wrap.
3:45
Does this have kale in it?
3:47
You guys are killing me here.
3:49
Bacon, kale, lettuce, tomato wrap.
3:53
I mean, if I'm gonna have, like,
3:54
the trendy Seattle experience,
3:57
I gotta have the wrap with the kale in it.
3:58
What do you want, Dennis?
4:00
Yeah, rice.
4:02
Well, I don't know, man.
4:03
I don't know what to tell you.
4:05
They have barbecue chicken with mangoes.
4:07
Okay, then just get it.
4:10
I tell you, man, this is, like,
4:12
weird stuff,
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because, like, normally, sitting in a store,
4:17
putting stuff in your backpack,
4:18
like, here, let's get something to drink, too.
4:19
Dennis, what do you want?
4:20
You want a Snapple?
4:23
I'm getting Snapples, so...
4:24
Do they have, like, Amazon brand drinks?
4:26
Amazon brand drinks?
4:27
I don't think so.
4:29
No, I don't think so.
4:30
Sorry, you're gonna have to have the
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only, like, 98% Amazon experience here.
4:36
Harmless coconut water?
4:37
Do you want the harmful one or the harmless one?
4:39
You want the harmful one?
4:41
What does that mean?
4:42
Well, this one's harmless.
4:43
I don't, I'm just...
4:44
Get that, get that, yeah.
4:46
Like, I feel like someone's gonna come tackle me.
4:50
Okay, so we got all our snacks.
4:51
Now we've got to get what we actually came here for.
4:55
We can choose between the Always Infinity
4:57
and the Tampax Pearl.
4:59
Let's go with the Always right here.
5:02
But, with a twist, I have a challenge for their system.
5:06
I want to see how it handles me
5:07
putting this down in the wrong place
5:09
and then picking it back up.
5:12
All right, thank you.
5:13
Yeah, cool.
5:14
Let's say I'm shopping
5:16
for some alcohol and I kind of go,
5:17
do I really want this?
5:19
Not sure.
5:20
I want to see how it handles it.
5:23
Uh-huh, yup, yup.
5:25
Okay, you know what?
5:25
I actually don't want some alcohol after all,
5:27
but if I come back without these,
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I'm gonna get in all sorts of trouble.
5:30
So, let's head for the exit.
5:34
Like, my reflex as I'm walking towards the exit is like,
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okay, I gotta get ready to take off my bag
5:39
and take my stuff out and put it on the thing.
5:43
So, theoretically now, as I walk through
5:45
what they're calling the transition area,
5:48
Amazon is going to do a small transaction
5:51
on my credit card, a dollar,
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just to validate that it's working.
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Then they're gonna build a balance of it
5:57
once they've totaled up everything that I took.
6:00
Bear in mind, guys, that if you overdraw your credit card,
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that's on you to deal with any kind of penalties
6:06
or fees that are associated with that.
6:09
So, here it is.
6:15
Hey, there we go, there we go.
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Nice get up and go.
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Your trip time was 26 minutes and 27 seconds.
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Your receipt is ready.
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Check this out.
6:24
So, Amazon is actually so confident in their system
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that they've built in a feature
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where if for whatever reason you're charged
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for something that you didn't take,
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you can actually just remove it.
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And crazily enough, they're using the honor system,
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which, if you think about it, actually isn't that crazy.
6:46
Because it's tied into your Prime account,
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which is tied into your credit card,
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Amazon can use machine learning
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not to mention just common sense
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in order to figure out if people are abusing the system.
6:58
Okay, so let's see how we did.
7:01
Boom, got it.
7:03
Berry, however that's pronounced.
7:05
Got it.
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Bacon, kale, lettuce, and tomato wrap.
7:09
Diet Snapple iced tea.
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Raspberry.
7:11
Oh, a diet.
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And coconut water.
7:14
Nailed it.
7:16
Okay, so it got everything,
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but how does the system handle an item
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that was accidentally not charged?
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Because, I mean, nothing's perfect.
7:25
Well, Amazon's so confident in their system,
7:30
and seemingly rightly so,
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that they have actually apparently told another news outlet
7:36
that managed to walk out with a yogurt they didn't pay for.
7:39
You know what?
7:39
Go ahead, keep it.
7:41
The yogurt's on us.
7:42
Because they seem to believe that the system is so accurate
7:46
that even with those occasional misfires,
7:49
they're still going to make up for the cost of cashiers,
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plain clothes, loss prevention, security people,
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and, well, just the normal shoplifting
7:59
that retailers refer to as shrink.
8:06
Not bad, considering it's got kale in it.
8:09
Actually, that's really good.
8:10
Maybe the craziest thing about this whole experience
8:14
is that, let's say I decided this, you know, kale sucked,
8:18
or, you know what, I don't need these pads after all.
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If I wanted to return them,
8:25
at this time, there is literally no mechanism to take,
8:28
take this back.
8:30
You'd have to talk to an associate and give it to them.
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But the way that the refund would be processed
8:35
would be identical.
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You would just go into your receipt,
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you would select an item, and you would remove it.
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I don't need it, or whatever.
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And no questions asked, they will give you a refund.
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Not only do you not have to return it,
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there is no mechanism to return it.
8:53
You're gonna have to find a solution to that in the longterm.
8:55
Okay, so in summary, that was really freaking cool.
9:00
But as some of you may have noticed,
9:02
it is now go for a walk in the rain time,
9:05
because there are definitely still some issues
9:07
and some concerns that I have about this technology.
9:11
So issue number one is that before Amazon,
9:14
as they are undoubtedly gonna do in the next year or two,
9:18
rolls this out in Whole Foods locations,
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they acquired them, must've been about a year ago now,
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they're gonna have to figure out how to address the limit
9:26
on the number of customers
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that can be in the store at one time.
9:30
Now, you just make a line outside the store,
9:32
but if your whole pitch is lineup-less shopping,
9:36
that's obviously a dumb longterm solution.
9:39
Issue number two is that a traditional grocery store's
9:43
loyalty program actually tells them a lot more about you
9:48
than just what you bought.
9:51
With data, especially if you're a regular shopper,
9:54
like what you buy, how much of it, and how often,
9:58
they can extrapolate a lot about,
10:00
not just you, but also your family.
10:03
And Amazon hasn't talked a ton
10:05
about what data they're collecting,
10:07
how long they're keeping it for,
10:08
there's nothing Go specific in their privacy policy,
10:11
but if I was a betting man,
10:13
I would put good money on Amazon collecting
10:16
all kinds of extra data,
10:19
like your movement patterns around the store,
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how long you looked at a particular item
10:24
before buying it or not buying it,
10:27
which advertising kiosks or end caps,
10:29
which advertising kiosks or end caps, which advertising kiosks or end caps,
10:29
you found the most attractive.
10:32
And they're gonna use that,
10:33
combined with what they already know about you
10:35
from your online profile,
10:37
to build an incredibly detailed picture
10:39
of who you are and what you're about.
10:42
And this ignores some of the less obvious societal issues
10:47
that we're gonna be facing
10:48
as technology like this becomes more prevalent.
10:51
So it's estimated that in America right now,
10:54
there are three and a half million cashiers.
10:58
And you know,
10:59
Amazon's side of this story is that,
11:02
you know, yeah, we don't have any cashiers,
11:04
but we're still gonna need humans for food prep,
11:08
restocking the shelves,
11:10
checking ID in the alcoholic beverages section.
11:13
They say they're still gonna need humans for that
11:15
for the foreseeable future.
11:16
But you know, I'm kind of looking at this going,
11:18
well, yeah, but regular grocery stores
11:21
also need people for food prep and stocking shelves.
11:25
I'm not sure if this math is gonna add up.
11:26
And you know, if I were to be saying, well, yeah,
11:27
I'm not sure if this math is gonna add up.
11:28
And you know, if I were to be saying, well, yeah,
11:29
I'm sitting here with a crystal ball,
11:31
figuring out what I think the future is gonna be,
11:34
I see no reason why those jobs
11:36
couldn't eventually be replaced as well.
11:39
So that's something that we are going to have to figure out
11:42
as people over the next,
11:44
yeah, we don't have as long to deal with this
11:46
as we might have hoped.
11:48
Speaking of not having a long time to deal with something,
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So thanks for watching, guys.
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If you just liked this video,
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but if you liked it,
12:46
hit like, get subscribed,
12:47
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12:51
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Also down there is our merch store,
12:55
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12:57
as well as our community forum,
12:58
which you should totally join.
13:01
All right, let's get out of the rain.
13:03
This stuff tastes like .
13:05
Sorry I bought it.