2018年CRI Supermarkets trial facial recognition at checkouts

 

Shoppers at a supermarket in Beijing can now pay for their food using nothing but their face.

7FRESH, a supermarket in Beijing operated by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, is testing automated¹ checkouts² which use facial recognition.

CRI's Yu Yang has the story.

With no human cashier nearby, customers hold their products up to an automated checkout³ kiosk

A camera scans their face and matches it to a sales account, while a second one reads the price tag. After entering a mobile phone number to charge the online account, the transaction is finished in seconds.

Automated checkouts using facial recognition is one of a series of innovations JD.com is testing at 7FRESH, an initiative aimed at applying its e-commerce experience to brick-and-mortar Chinese retailing⁴.

JD.com is China's biggest online direct retailer⁵ and No. 2 in total sales volume behind Alibaba Group.

JD.com's e-commerce platform is integrated with 7FRESH, which means customers can pay using their online accounts. That requires nothing more than a face the kiosk can recognise and a mobile phone number.

Sun Ji, a 29-year-old accountant, says that other retailers⁶ also accept Alipay or WeChat Pay. But he said those can be more complicated because they involve multiple companies.

"Only 7FRESH and JD's facial recognition payment is valid⁷ here, so except for those who are using the popular WeChat or Alipay, this might be a problem for those who are not familiar with this system."

Sun Ji also says the face-recognition kiosk is "quite easy to use and more convenient" and he doesn't have to line up.

Technology analyst⁸ and entrepreneur Zhuang Shuai says facial recognition is likely to expand into other sectors⁹ soon because it is safer than fingerprints¹⁰, retina scans and passwords.

"We can easily obtain others' fingerprints from where they pressed their fingers, but it's hard to do so with a person's face. To duplicate people's faces is very hard, maybe the hardest in the above three methods. So I think it is expected to be used broadly in this respect."

But he has also cautioned that the hardware and software of the technology is still in the early stages of development and has a long way to go before it became ubiquitous.

"According to my knowledge, in many of the unmanned stores run by e-commerce companies, there is still a probability of 0.5 to 1 percent for the facial recognition system to make a mistake. They could confuse me and other people, such as recognise me as you and vice¹¹ versa. I have encountered such circumstances."

JD.com announced in January its plans to open 1,000 7FRESH supermarkets across the country in the next three to five years.

With 25 outlets¹² in seven Chinese cities, Alibaba's Hema supermarket, a similar offline fresh food supermarket, announced plans in January to open 30 more stores in Beijing this year.

The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) has introduced facial recognition technology at its automatic teller¹³ machines (ATM). Other banks, such as the China Merchants Bank and the Construction Bank of China, have also introduced similar technology in their ATMS.

1 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

2 checkouts   

n.检验，校验( checkout的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The hypermarket stations had a wide selection of branded foods, clean toilets, friendly service and fast checkouts. 这家超大型连锁加油站有各种名牌食品、洁净的卫生间、友好的服务并且结帐迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Make sure all checkouts paid by credit card have been posted accordingly. 确保所有的信用卡结帐都已及时过账。 来自互联网

3 checkout   

n.（超市等）收银台，付款处

参考例句：

• Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
• A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。

4 retailing   

n.零售业v.零售(retail的现在分词)

参考例句：

• career opportunities in retailing 零售业的职业机会
• He is fond of retailing the news. 他喜欢传播消息。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

6 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

7 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 teller   

n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员

参考例句：

• The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
• The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。