Amazon's cashierless grocery store cameras were fooled by a trickster's wardrobe change — but he still got charged for an avocado left by the bathroom (AMZN)

Reuters/Louise Heavens

• Amazon recently opened its first cashierless grocery store in Seattle, which uses cameras, sensors, and artificial intelligence to identify which items customers buy.
• A journalist from Ars Technica tried to trick the cameras and see if he could nab some items without them noticing.
• After ducking into a bathroom and putting on a jacket, he said he ended up not getting charged for several items.
• But even Amazon is possessive of its avocados: It charged him for one he left outside the bathroom.
• The Seattle store is a larger version of the Amazon Go stores the company launched in 2018, which are more similar to convenience stores.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Amazon opened its first cashierless grocery store in Seattle on Tuesday, and already someone has tricked the cameras it relies on to tally up shoppers' purchases.

Amazon Go Grocery, as the company calls it, is a larger version of the convenience-store-style Amazon Go stores it first launched in 2018, and sells everything from produce and meat to beer and wine. But instead of employees ringing up customers after they finish shopping, the store uses a network of cameras, sensors, and artificial intelligence to figure out what they're selecting in real-time, and then charges their Amazon account afterwards.

Ars Technica reporter Sam Machkovech took a trip to the experimental store to see if he could bag some fruits and veggies without its surveillance system noticing. While his creative produce-juggling efforts failed, he was able to pull off a wardrobe change in a bathroom that allowed him to temporarily escape from Amazon's watchful eyes.

For its part, Amazon said the system isn't meant to focus on people like Machkovech.

"At Amazon Go and Amazon Go Grocery, we spend the vast majority of our time thinking about improving the experience for the 99.9% of well-intentioned shoppers vs. designing a system that is focused on deterring the few bad actors," an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider.

Here's a look at how the stores work — and how Machkovech was able to game the system.

Before entering an Amazon Go store, customers must scan their smartphone so Amazon can figure out who they are.

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

Customers must download the Amazon Go app, which generates a unique QR code that they scan upon entering the store. That way, Amazon can figure out who's inside, track them while shopping, and charge their account after they leave.

Amazon monitors customers' actions once they're inside using a complex and extensive array of cameras, sensors, and motion-detection software.

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

Amazon Go stores don't use facial recognition, according to TechCrunch. But they do use loads of cameras, sensors, and complex software to detect motion, identify objects, and analyze all the data they collect, helping them determine which items to place in customers' "virtual shopping carts."

The sensors are "the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning," according to Amazon's website.

Machkovech headed for the produce section, where he hoped the irregularity of the items might give him an edge in fooling the cameras.

REUTERS/Jason Redmond

Canned goods or boxed items have consistent shapes, sizes, weights, and labeling, but when it comes to produce, Machkovech noted that Amazon's system must make more nuanced decisions, such as figuring out whether an avocado is a medium or large one (he said they're priced differently) and identifying subtle differences between potatoes and yams.

Machkovech said he juggled veggies, rearranged bunches of bananas, and even swapped items behind his back, hoping his sleight of hand might overwhelm the cameras.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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SEE ALSO: Amazon opened its first cashierless full grocery store in Seattle as it ramps up its position in the grocery sector

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