Sam’s Club Launches Machine Vision Technology to Expedite Shopping

The Anatomy of the Machine Vision System

Arches at the exit are divided into two lanes. Each lane includes three cameras—one overhead and two others—to capture the sides and bottom of a shopping cart. Sam’s Club uses a combination of 2K and 4K cameras. The system captures images using only the ambient light inside the club.

After a shopper passes through the arch, algorithms complete these steps²:

• Computer vision algorithms detect items within the cart.
• More computer vision algorithms extract visual features, such as shapes and colors, from the images and then cross-reference those features with products in Sam’s Club’s inventory system.
• Other algorithms match the products in the cart to an electronic store receipt, noting any discrepancies.
• The system sends those results to a mobile device in the hands of a store employee stationed at the exit.

The entire system was designed in-house, and all image processing and analysis is done in the store and available in seconds, Sam’s Club says.

Related: Reimagining the End-to-End Retail Experience with IoT Technology

Although the algorithms were trained on images of all products sold at Sam’s Club before the system was pilot tested at 10 locations, training is a never-ending process. “To reach the highest levels of accuracy, we continuously train our computer vision models using millions of images of Sam’s Club items in various positions and lighting. This enables our systems to recognize items regardless of how they are positioned in carts,” Sam’s Club says in a blog post.²

Once a new product is added to the stores, it is automatically flagged, so images of it can be labeled and used for training.

“We are constantly looking at ways for Sam’s Club to be the most convenient membership club and will continue to prioritize using technology to provide a truly differentiated and delightful experience for our members,” says Chris Nicholas, CEO of Sam’s Club, in a news release.

References

1. Garner, Todd. Leading where it matters most: transforming the shopping experience, Walmart, Feb. 28, 2024 Leading Where It Matters Most: Transforming the Shopping Experience (walmart.com)

2. Big buys small lines: How Sam’s Club’s AI-powered technology simplifies our members’ exit experience, Walmart, April 30, 2024. Big buys, small lines – How Sam’s Club’s AI-powered technology simplifies our members’ exit experience (walmart.com)