Amazon creates intelligent shopping trolley for supermarket launch

The trolley, known as a Dash Cart, uses cameras and sensors to track goods, and charges for them when bags are removed, enabling customers to leave without queuing.

The trolleys are a development on from the ‘just walk out’ cashierless tech used by the etail giant in its Amazon Go stores and are designed to make shopping more convenient.

An Amazon account and smartphone are needed to use the trolleys, which can also weigh goods.

The carts will be used first at a food store Amazon will open later this year in Woodland Hills, California. It is understood that the shop will be more like a conventional supermarket than the Go branches.

The bigger range carried in the store brought new challenges for Amazon because of the “huge catalogue of items”, according to Amazon vice-president of physical retail and technology, Dilip Kumar.

According to CNBC, he said: “You need to be able to add that and keep track of all of that and it just increases the complexity.

“Plus, the weighing component of it also has to be very robust to be able to allow for a very accurate receipt experience for a customer.”

The technology deployed is inconspicuous and the trolley looks much like its conventional counterpart.

Kumar said: “We try to hide that complexity away from customers so you don’t have to learn any new shopping behaviours. Once you’re signed in with your phone, you can put the phone away and your normal way that you shop stays the same.”