Kroger and the Advantage Checkout

Tom Demeropolis
Checks out the Advantage Tunnel 
Checkout system at Kroger.   Also here is a video of the Fujitsu  / Kroger Advantage system in action.   More technical details.   Its what you might expect, you place items on a conveyor that goes through a tunnel, and multiple cameras 'find' the item codes. Why not just chuck in  your payment card as well?

" ...Kroger Co. is testing a checkout system that helps solve these problems. The Kroger Marketplace store in Hebron, Ky., has two of the tunnel systems, called Advantage Checkout, for shoppers to use.
Courier readers can read more about Advantage Checkout here, as well as other efforts Kroger is making to improve the checkout experience. The Advantage Checkout tunnel isn’t as fun as the Scan-Bag-Go system, but it is fast. I watched a customer with a full cart zip through. A few produce items slowed her down, because the current version of the tunnel doesn’t have a scale. A Kroger employee has to stop and weigh the produce.

To handle that drawback, Kroger installed scales in the produce department where shoppers can weigh their produce, bag it and tag it so the tunnel can read it without stopping. Two Kroger employees were helping customers at the tunnel, one unloading groceries and putting them on the tunnel, another bagging. The tunnel moves so fast, the bagger has to be on his toes to keep up with the scanned items. Once my items were through the tunnel, I was given a small receipt. I took this to one of four self-checkout stations, scanned it and paid.  It was faster than self checkout and I didn’t have to do any work ....  "

Via Jose F Guerra of L5 Source