Japan always comes up with interesting new technologies that surprise the masses. They are now out with new scanners which can recognize items in supermarket checkouts. The Japanese electronics company Toshiba is reportedly working on fruit recognition technology that will allow buyers to quickly get through their checkouts on supermarkets according to Digital Trends. Often a times when bar codes become troublesome to be read by an assistant at the counter, this is where the automatic computerized scanners come in.
When a scanner fails to recognize an item, it does not sound off with a beep and the bar code has to be manually keyed in. Just to take people out of such time wasting scenarios, Toshiba’s engineers have come up with a rescue plan by getting rid of the bar codes altogether through Object Recognition Scanner (ORS). It works by recognizing the pattern and colour recognition technology. The technology is still under development, but the idea of it being coming true is really exciting even now.
Toshiba will revolutionize the item scanning at the market in this way though and will be one of the most useful everyday technology that can save time. Time is precious and any technology produced to save it from being wasted in an activity that could be hurried on to through technology is really essential. Now Toshiba is starting it, but soon the other companies might just start mass producing the ORS for everyone everywhere and not just in Japan.
Especially for fruits and vegetables that buyers would be scanning would be easier objects to get through in the line at the market. However, the technology is a little advance then just that. It can tell difference from Red Delicious to Pacific Rose. According to Toshiba:
“Fruit and vegetables in supermarkets don’t usually have bar codes because they’re put out while they’re fresh, so these items can’t be read at the register using bar codes, which means staff needs to input data to record them. If staff are part-time employees, they may not recognize some items, which can cause delays. We’re developing this new scanner to solve that problem.”
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