Futuristic Shopping In The Works At Chicago Lab

NBC 5
Sep. 23, 2005

CHICAGO -- With wobbly wheels and squeaky carts, you may have thought grocery technology was confined to bar codes and coupon dispensers.

You might want to think again.

Some stores are equipping their carts with self-checkout scanners. And soon, they could be combining those scanners with the data they've been gathering on your shopping habits every time you check out.

At Chicago's Accenture Technology Labs, researchers think it will work like this: a cart will be able to recognize who you are and what you might want to buy.

"We know before you run out of stuff, that you might run out of that stuff, and you'll need this and this and this," said Rayid Ghani, who works at the lab.

The assistant will even store your favorite recipes.

"If you say, 'Add this recipe,' it will ad all the things to the shopping list that go into that recipe," Ghani explained.

NBC5's Charlie Wojciechowski said consumers should make no mistake -- this is advertising -- but it doesn't insult the intelligence of the shopper. It's subtle, just like another device, the high-tech armoire.

"Suppose I went to store in a couple of years and bought this jacket. This jacket will probably have an RFID tag, which is a Radio Frequency Identification Tag, in the label," said lab tech Anatole Gershman. "Now, I can ask the store to zap it, just destroy it. Or, if I don't, then I can have some additional services."

Gershman demonstrated one of those possible services -- a "smart" wardrobe that identifies clothing and gives recommendations for coordinating outfits.

The armoire can also save you from a fashion faux pas.

"Good morning," the wardrobe's soothing automated voice croons. "Don't forget you have a client meeting today. What you've chosen is a bit too casual."

Some of what is being developed in the lab's loop offices is truly the stuff of science fiction, Wojciechowski said.

Part of the challenge is interacting with this technology. One example of its interactivity is a movie timetable projected on two giant screens. When the screen is touched, it interacts with your hand.

You can learn more about each film just by touching its name, and you can make the film go away just as easily. The screen is capable of having more than one person use it simultaneously, anticipating the demands of a movie theater.

The goal is to make the technology transparent, and to find new ways to reach consumers in ways to which they will pay attention. Ads are coupled with information, and they play while you fast-forward your personal video recorder.

"What we are doing here is showing examples of new kinds of products and services that we believe will be ready for the marketplace within the next five years," lab spokesman Andy Fano said.

So, the next time you are in the grocery, not sure of what you want or where to find it, know that Chicago researchers are working on ways to help -- and they're doing it in ways you might not expect.