Woolworths’ mind-blowing artificial intelligence speeding up check-outs

You can’t physically see it but you may have noticed it at your local Woolies store when scanning loose fruit and vegetables.

Woolworths has added a new feature to its checkout scanners to detect the type of fruit or vegetable being weighed.

If you haven’t physically seen it, that’s because it’s built into the scanner and it’s only when you weigh a food you will notice the difference — that you’re no longer required to manually search for an item.

The hi-tech solution recognises the fruit or vegetable based on its colour, shape or size and will automatically appear on the screen.

So if a customer places a loose tomato on the scanner, the system will show a range of tomato varieties rather than the full list of fruit and vegetable items.

It also makes it impossible for thieves to enter in a cheaper product when weighing produce while using the self-service checkout system.

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Woolworths self-service check-outs have a hidden feature. Picture: Joel Carrett

While the new system – “Pick List” – is currently in 220 Woolworths stores, expect it to be rolled out in the remaining 780 stores over the coming years.

“We’re always looking for ways to make shopping easier for our customers,” a Woolworths spokesperson told news.com.au

The way it works is through cameras built into the scanner which analyse the characteristics of the product.

“As we progressively upgrade our assisted check-outs, we have access to new technology, which helps customers find loose fruit and veg items in the system faster,” the spokesperson said.

“The system uses image recognition technology to filter the list of possible products based on their colour, shape or size.”

There’s cameras built into the scanner which helps customers find loose fruit and veg items in the system faster. Picture: Supplied

The spokesperson said it makes the self-serve “that little bit faster” and improves the accuracy of product selection for customers.

It comes after Coles recently unveiled its rare style of self-service checkout — which features a conveyor belt.

The checkout has been rolled out at some of the supermarket giant’s flagship stores, but has garnered social media attention in Western Australia, with one online commentator dubbing the machine “beautiful”.

“This will make the self-serve check-outs a better experience, not having to ram/cram groceries into tight spots”, they wrote online.

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The system uses image recognition technology to filter the list of possible products based on their colour, shape or size. Picture: Supplied

The hidden cameras analyse the characteristics of the product. Picture: Supplied

Coles self-serve check-outs have been implemented in most of its stores and the conveyor belt additions can be found in the retailer’s flagship stores, such as its massive Southland shop in Melbourne.

The retailer said the machine is part of its strategy to have multiple payment methods at the checkout, but noted it is still adamant in keeping workers at the checkout in the majority of stores.

Coles also recently unveiled its new self service check-outs featuring a conveyor belt for shopping items. Picture: Facebook

“Coles is making it easier for customers to choose how they check out,” a Coles spokesman said.

“While we will always have team members available to help customers on our main lane check outs, for those who prefer self-checkout we are modifying the machines to make them more convenient to use.”

The self-serving check-outs all have the ability to weigh fresh produce, scan Flybuys and have shopping bag holders.