Self-service shopping reimagined with AWS Just Walk Out – News

The concept seems simple, yet the technology behind it is remarkably complex. It’s pay-as-you-go, self-service in the purest form; walk into a store, pick up an item and just walk out.

The technology side has been supplied by Amazon Web Services Inc. using a platform called Just Walk Out that was developed and launched in Amazon Go stores in 2018. The technology has expanded beyond the retail store use case, as explained by Rajiv Chopra (pictured), vice president of Amazon Just Walk Out at AWS.

“What we’ve done over the last almost decade of investing in computer vision-based technologies is taken the core computer vision-based technology from the Go store and externalized it as a product in different forms,” Chopra said. “Business and retailers in completely different segments like travel or hospitals or stadiums or universities and their cafeterias can use that same computer-vision powered technology to make it be super simple for shoppers to tap a card, walk in, shop and just walk out.”

Chopra spoke with theCUBE’s John Furrier at the AWS Mid-Year Leadership Summit, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, News Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the evolution of Just Walk Out into a platform for hassle-free shopping.

Self-service at the edge

The Just Walk Out model relies on computer vision, powered by AI, cameras and sensor fusion technology for automated product tracking and checkout. Radio frequency identification-equipped lanes can process product selection and inventory tracking instantly. It has emerged as a prime example of AI at the edge, according to Chopra.

“We have our own custom edge compute devices that are highly optimized for doing vision algorithms,” he explained. “The latest versions of our computer vision algorithms are no different than all of the other generative AI techniques, the deep learning techniques, transformer models that we are basing it on. We have our own networking gear to make sure that we don’t have any drops and any breakage in the streams that are being processed. And then, obviously, it’s backed up with the cloud and so that’s the way we’ve invested in it.”

In 2024, AWS made several enhancements to its Just Walk Out technology. The cloud giant introduced a new AI model that can track shoppers in chaotic environments, where people may pick up and put down multiple items during the shopping experience.

“Just Walk Out technology works really well in high throughput, crowded scenarios with lots of people moving in,” Chopra said. “We can still, with high accuracy, know who’s coming, who’s taking what.”

AWS has found other applications for its computer vision model, including stadiums and airports. It is now expanding into the hospital sector where people may find themselves caring for a loved one in the early morning hours without ready access to food.

“If you, as a fan, go to a stadium and you want to quickly get back to your seat to watch the game, you don’t want to miss anything there, you walk into a store, you don’t have to stand in long lines,” Chopra said. “But now, if you think about that same scenario in a hospital as a medical provider or as a loved one for a patient, you have the expectation of being able to get a snack maybe late in the night when you’re waiting there. We are just getting started.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of News’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the AWS Mid-Year Leadership Summit:

Photo: News