Smart Cash Register

A new system called Bakery-Scan uses point-of-sale (POS) visual recognition to automate the check-out process. It addresses a need that plagues many businesses where employee turnover is high and learning curves need to be reined in.

For example, one Tokyo bakery – finding it costly and time-consuming to train its employees on the names and prices of more than a hundred varieties of baked goods – resorted to cellophane wrapping and bar codes to increase speed and accuracy. But sales dropped by over 65% because customers didn’t like their bread pre-packaged. So they dropped the bar codes and switched to using a system that uses a camera positioned above a backlit counter. Images of the merchandise are compared to a database of products to identify the item and its price with an accuracy of 98 percent. If the system isn’t sure, it will give the operator a list of possibilities, and use their selection to fine-tune its own definitions and become more accurate over time.

Bakery-Scan is expected to become commercially available in the U.S. soon at a price of about $20,000. It can also be adapted to identify other items by shape and color, such as fresh produce or medications.