I like to go to Walmart about a week before Christmas. People that don't leave the house come out to shop. It' s like a very foreign country.
Bucky - do you think it's former Walmart workers that took and released those Walmart You Tube videos ?
tonygraz wrote:
Not familiar with any of the YouTube Walmart vids, I've seen enough stupid people to last a lifetime. When you enter the doors of Walmart, you cross a portal into a completely different universe. The store security cam footage is pretty tightly controlled, only certain people are (supposed to) have access to it. Actual copies of the vids can only be given to outside parties with proper documentation and is limited to specifically what, where, and when.
In processing potential shoplifters, we can show the perp the vids of the incident (with a third party present in the room as an independent witness) and only the parts that are specifically relevant to the incident then ask things like "This is what we have, do you still want to stick to your story?"
If I were to quit my job there (I hesitate to use the word work, cause that would be a misnomer. The only "work" is fighting off the urge to dope slap people), technically I would be banned from shopping there for 6 months or 9 months (I forget the exact length of time) because I know where the holes are in the security cam coverage. The cameras are not actively monitored all the time - there are too many - but you are pretty much on camera from the time you pull into the parking lot until you leave and they are rolling 24/7.
As much as I disparage the place, they do have a pretty high tech security system especially around check out registers. For example, if you have a case of water or other stuff on the bottom of the cart, it recognizes it and the AI can kinda figure out if it's a bag of dog food vs a case of diapers vs a case of water... If the item that the system is expecting to be scanned is not scanned, the the system will notify the person manning (or womanning) the check out registers that an item at register XYZ was missed. The worker is then supposed to approach the customer and kindly ask "I noticed that you might be having troubles scanning your purchases, can I assist you?"
It's pretty cool from the technical side. The AI is constantly learning from different camera angles, of different shapes, different colors on how to ID items. Similar to face recognition. If it sees an image of an item that it doesn't recognize and then a UPC code is scanned, it updates it's database with that reference image along with the appropriate UPC code. As the seasons change and new items come and go, we test it sometimes. Walk through the field of view with a boxed up fake Christmas tree, for example. Let the cameras get a view of it and then scan the UPC code. Now the system has a few different images of the packaging and the associated UPC code that goes along with it to add to it's library for reference.
If you want to test the system for yourself, go to Walmart and go to the self check out. Scan scan a box of cereal, but place a Dremel tool on top of it. The scanner sees and rings up the UPC of the box Coco Puffs but not the Dremel tool. The AI should see that you are trying to hide the Dremel tool and notifies the checkout associate that you are miss-scanning items. The register should lock up and a the associate should approach you and ask of you need help scanning your items.
Also, don't try to walk around the store drinking Key Lime seltzer water without paying for it. Then $hit hits the fan.
