5/5 (1)

Imagine walking into a store, grab the stuff you want, skip the cashier and subsequently leave the store. With rapidly advancing technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), and Machine Learning, this imagination has turned into reality. Biometric payment enables consumers to authorize payments through facial recognition (Jefferson, 2022). Instead of taking out cash or credit cards, consumers only need to get their face scanned at the check-out. In this way, queues are avoided, waiting time is eliminated, employee costs are reduced, while productivity is increased.

            Amazon has been the first retailer to launch a cashierless store in 2018 (Oi, 2021). With the introduction of Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out Shopping’, Amazon has initiated a new, technology-driven customer journey. Customers are required to registrate themselves in order to set up an Amazon account and are expected to have the free Amazon application downloaded on their mobile devices in advance. When entering an Amazon Go store, customers will be asked to enter the ‘In-Store Code’ within the application. Cameras detect products when these are taken by customers and automatically adds these products to a virtual chart (Amazon, n.d.). Although cashiers are no longer needed, employees are still present to help customers if they need to. After customers are done shopping, they can just walk out. The receipt will be sent to the Amazon account.  

            The technology is not limited to Amazon itself, as AiFi enables other stores to implement the same technology as Amazon. While Amazon focuses on providing a smooth customer journey and enhancing operational efficiency, AiFi aims to sell its product to third parties. AiFi is an American start-up that is specialized in the development of autonomous retail software. The start-up provides the same technology as Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out Shopping’: cameras are everywhere to detect the movement of products. The virtual basket will be updated automatically whenever customers pick up products or when they put the products down (Dean, 2021). Remarkably, AiFi offers a hybrid payment method, enabling customers to either pay at a cashier if they want or else pay by biometric payment. As its global customer base is still growing, AiFi is expanding rapidly. The start-up even launched the largest autonomous store operated by cameras in Shanghai. With the expansion of AiFi, autonomous stores become more common.

Literature

Frequently Asked Questions. (n.d.). Amazon. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=16008589011

Jefferson, E. (2022, 14 September). Body talk: who’s ready for biometric verification?.  Raconteur. Retreived October 3, 2022, from https://www.raconteur.net/finance/payments/body-talk-whos-ready-for-biometric-verification/

Oi, R. (2021, September 29). Post-pandemic, cashierless stores are now the present (not the future) of retail. TechHQ. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://techhq.com/2021/09/cashierless-stores/

The world’s biggest camera-operated autonomous store has opened in Shanghai. This is how it works. (2021, February 28). Business Insider Nederland. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.nl/the-worlds-biggest-camera-operated-autonomous-store-has-opened-in-shanghai-this-is-how-it-works/

5/5 (2)

GUANGZHOU, CHINA – With its rapidly evolving research and development of Level 4 self-driving cars, WeRide aims to navigate the revolution of autonomous driving vehicles, entailing state-of-the-art technology, disruptive business models and restructuring daily infrastructure (WerRide.ai, 2022). After the establishment of WeRide in 2017, the startup has launched various pilot programs, focusing on the implementation of smart technology within the vehicle industry. Remarkably, WeRide was the first in introducing a driverless Robotaxi service in China, and now also owns the largest fleet of self-driving cars among other Chinese startups (WeRide, n.d.). Next to the Robotaxi, WeRide has also introduced the Robobus for public transportation, the Robovan for delivering goods, and the Robo Street Sweeper to keep the roads clean. WeRide is responsible for integrating hardware and software within these Level 4 driverless vehicles. 

Levels of autonomous vehicles are categorized into six different levels. Level 0 refers to no driving automation at all, while Level 5 refers to full driving automation. In this case, Level 4 includes the Level in which driving is highly autonomous. Human interaction is not required (Synopsis, n.d.). Level 4 depends on the integration of hardware and software within smart vehicles, enabling WeRide to generate big data, which is being used to enhance existing algorithms to ensure safety and to improve customer satisfaction. The startup offers its driverless services to consumers through an online platform, which automatically generates and processes big data as well (Gasgoo, 2022). Accordingly, WeRide is exposed to a lot of big data through the integration of hardware and software within the autonomous vehicles on the one hand and through its online platform on the other, which is eventually necessary to develop more advanced features based on improved AI algorithms. 

Analysts expect the automated vehicle market to be a $72 billion industry by 2025 and a $230 billion industry by 2030 (Crider, 2022; Xuejing, 2022). Policies are becoming increasingly open, while technologies are more advanced, and costs are being limited (Xuejing, 2022). At the same time, however, some experts are being slightly skeptical. The responsiveness of robotic drivers does not exceed the responsive of human drivers. Besides, robotic drivers do not have the ability to interpret situations as clearly as human drivers do, which will possibly affect the decision-making in a negative way, and which ultimately may result in life-threatening situations (Euronews, 2022). Considering both sides, what would you do if you were provided with the opportunity to participate in this pilot? Would you go for a ride in a driverless car?

Literature

Crider, J. (2022, 6 september). Shanghai predicts autonomous cars will be a $72B industry by 2025. TESLARATI.Retreived October 2, 2022, from https://www.teslarati.com/shanghai-autonomous-cars-72b-2025/

Driverless tech companies entering fast lane with innovation. (n.d.). Chinadaily.com.cn. Retreived October 2, 2022, from https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202204/29/WS626b394fa310fd2b29e5a0dc.html

Euronews. (2022, 20 september). Will self-driving cars on our roads ever be a reality? Some experts are becoming sceptical. euronews. Retreived October 2, 2022, from https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/09/20/will-self-driving-cars-on-our-roads-ever-be-a-reality-some-experts-are-becoming-sceptical

Gasgoo Awards 2022 applicant: L4 autonomous driving universal software and hardware platform from WeRide. (n.d.). Retreived October 2, 2022, from https://autonews.gasgoo.com/m/70020580.html

The 6 Levels of Vehicle Autonomy Explained | Synopsys Automotive. (n.d.). Retreived October 2, 2022, from https://www.synopsys.com/automotive/autonomous-driving-levels.html

WeRide. (n.d.). Retreived October 2, 2022, from https://cn.weride.ai

WeRide launches fully driverless Robobus service to the public. (2022, 8 januari). Medium. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://werideai.medium.com/weride-launches-fully-driverless-robobus-service-to-the-public-6d6bab0c0a0e

Zooming toward “golden inflection point of growth”. (n.d.). Chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202209/26/WS6330fbe0a310fd2b29e79a41.html