E-commerce giant Amazon has applied for a patent for its touchless hand-scanning system. The system identifies individuals by their palm characteristics such as wrinkle and vein patterns.
In the future, Amazon could switch to the hand-scanning system to replace the current method, where shoppers scan an app to get into the Amazon Go cashless stores.
In September 2019, Amazon announced that it was testing technology which would allow buyers at its Whole Foods stores to checkout with their hands as opposed to swiping a card.
The patent application lists several of Amazon’s employees as the inventors of this technology. Among them, Dilip Kumar, who has been Amazon Go’s Head of Technology, and VP for Amazon’s physical retail initiatives.
The patent filing describes the invention as: “a scanning device that obtains raw images of a user’s palm. The first set of images depict external characteristics, such as lines and creases in the user’s palm while the second set of images depict internal anatomical structures, such as veins, bones, soft tissue, or other structures beneath the epidermis of the skin.”
The scanners could be placed at the entrances or exits of a location, much like the ones in Amazon Go stores, or any other physical stores. They are then associated to a user account to bill them for product they collect from the store.
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The patent states that, “if the user picks an item from an inventory location and leaves the facility, their account may be billed for that item.”
Currently, all entrants to Amazon Go’s stores must scan a special Amazon Go app at a turnstile before entering.
A collection of cameras and sensors monitor them while they select product off the shelves, as well as when they exit the stores. They are then automatically billed.
Amazon has landed into hot water regarding how it handles the privacy of users of its products such as Alexa and Ring. A new biometrics-based technology could raise further questions.
Amazon has opened 24 Amazon Go locations in the US since 2017.
