We know that Microsoft has envisioned the use of its Kinect technology outside the realm of gaming, and so far we’ve seen it used in a variety of different settings, ranging from banking to medical usage, so we guess we can’t say we’re surprised to hear that there are now plans to utilize the Kinect to power a shopping cart to be used in the supermarket.
While Microsoft has not mentioned who built the device, it has been reported that Chaotic Moon Labs (the group behind the Board of Imagination) had a hand in it. The cart was tested at a Whole Foods grocery store in Austin, Texas, and it featured the Kinect and a motor used to drive itself while following the user from behind, a Windows 8 tablet to display information, and a UPC scanner which is used to scan the food items.
The Kinect will be used to recognize the user via a membership card, and will be able to recall shopping lists and remember the user’s preferences in terms of food choice, even going as far as notifying them when a different/wrong selection has been made. Food items will be scanned and placed into the cart and will then be removed off the shopping list, and will even notify the user when the shopping list has been completed.
Users can then request for the items in their shopping cart to be tallied up with the total price, and will even be able to pay for their purchases via a stored account, ultimately reducing the need to stand in queue at the checkout counter. So far 30 customers have had a go with the test cart, but Chaotic Moon will be testing more than one cart at a time starting April 1st. What do you guys think? Is this the grocery shopping of the future that we have dreamt of? Check out the video above for a demonstration of the Kinect-powered shopping cart in action.