Page 24 - aruba-today-20190429

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Monday 29 april 2019
Coming to store shelves: cameras that guess your age and sex

By JOSEPH PISANI practices, like raising pric-
AP Retail Writer es when an older person
NEW YORK (AP) — Eyeing walks in or pushing prod-
that can of soda in the su- ucts based on your per-
permarket cooler? Or may- ceived mood such as ads
be you're craving a pint for anti-depression medi-
of ice cream? A camera cation if the cameras think
could be watching you. you look sad, adds Dixon of
But it's not there to see if the World Privacy Forum. .
you're stealing. These cam- "We shouldn't be gathering
eras want to get to know the emotional state of any-
you and what you're buy- one," Dixon said.
ing. At a Walgreens in New
It's a new technology be- York, a sign above a rack
ing trotted out to retailers, of wines said the store is
where cameras try to guess testing cameras and sen-
your age, gender or mood sors that "do not identify
as you walk by. The intent you or store any images."
is to use the information to The sign doesn't say where
show you targeted real- the cameras or sensors are,
time ads on in-store video but it does have a web ad-
screens. dress for the privacy poli-
Companies are pitching cy of Cooler Screens, the
retailers to bring the tech- This March 7, 2019, photo shows a smart shelf area at Walgreen's in Chicago. company that makes the
nology into their physical Associated Press doors.
stores as a way to better Calvin Johnson, who was
compete with online rivals video screens that can be locations. any consumer privacy con- looking for a Snapple, said
like Amazon that are al- placed in malls or bus stops Walgreens, which has more cerns," Walgreens said. he visited the store before,
ready armed with troves and try to tell if someone is than 8,000 drugstores, in- Advocates of the technol- but didn't notice the cam-
of information on their cus- wearing glasses or sporting stalled cooler doors with ogy say it could benefit eras until a reporter point-
tomers and their buying a beard, which in turn can cameras and sensors at shoppers by showing them ed them out.
habits. be used to sell ads for new six locations in Chicago, discounts tailored to them "I don't like that at all," John-
With store cameras, you frames or razors. New York, San Francisco or drawing attention to son said.
may not even realize you The screens can also be and Bellevue, Washington. products that are on sale. Another shopper, Ray
are being watched unless placed at the drive-thru. A Instead of the usual clear But privacy experts warn Ewan, said he noticed the
you happen to notice the minivan pulling into a fast glass doors that allow cus- that even if the information lenses while grabbing a
penny-sized lenses. And food restaurant, for exam- tomers to see inside, there being collected is anony- Diet Coke, but isn't con-
that has raised concerns ple, might get an ad for a are video screens that dis- mous, it can still be used in cerned since cameras are
over privacy. family-sized meal on the play ads along with the an intrusive way. hard to avoid.
"The creepy factor here is video screen menu. cooler's contents. For instance, if many peo- "There's one on each cor-
definitely a 10 out of 10," For now, the cameras are Above the door handle is ple are eyeing a not-so- ner," Ewan said.
said Pam Dixon, the execu- in just a handful of stores. a camera that can try to healthy dessert but not buy- Not all retailers are keen on
tive director of the World Kroger, which has 2,800 su- guess ages and track irises ing it, a store could place adding embedded cam-
Privacy Forum, a nonprofit permarkets, is testing cam- to see where you are look- it at the checkout line so eras. Walmart's Sam's Club,
that researches privacy is- eras embedded in a price ing, but Walgreens said you see it again and "may- which is testing shelves with
sues. sign above shelves in two those functions are off for be your willpower breaks digital price tags, is cau-
At the National Retail Fed- stores in the suburbs outside now. The company said down," said Ryan Calo, a tious about them.
eration trade show in New Cincinnati and Seattle. Vid- the cameras are currently professor at the University "I think the most important
York earlier this year, a eo screens attached to the being used to sense when of Washington School of thing you do with tech like
smart shelf on display by shelves can play ads and someone is in front of the Law and co-director of its that is to make sure people
Mood Media tried to de- show discounts. Kroger said cooler and count the num- Tech Policy Lab. know," said John Furner,
tect "happiness" or "fear" as the cameras guess a shop- ber of shoppers passing by. "Just because a company Sam's Club's CEO. "You
people stood in front it — per's age and sex but the It declined to say if it will doesn't know exactly who don't want to surprise peo-
information a store could information is anonymous turn on the other functions you are doesn't mean they ple on how you use tech-
use to gauge reaction to a and the data is not being of the camera. can't do things that will nology or data."
product on the shelf or an stored. If the tests work out "All such enhancements harm you," Calo said. Jon Reily, vice president of
ad on a screen. Cineplex well, the company said it will be carefully reviewed The technology could commerce strategy at con-
Digital Media showed off could expand it into other and considered in light of also lead to discriminatory sultancy Publicis.Sapient,
said retailers risk offending
customers who may be
shown ads that are aimed
at a different gender or
age group. Nonetheless,
he expects the embedded
cameras to be widely used
in the next four years as the
technology gets more ac-
curate, costs less and shop-
pers become used to it.
For now, he said, "we are
/arubatoday/ still on the creepy side of
the scale."q