Amazon multimodal AI model. (Source: Amazon)

Eight stores featuring the latest iteration of the Amazon Just Walk Out frictionless shopping platform are opening in five pro basketball arenas.

In an email to Chain Store Age, a representative for Amazon said the checkout-free stores will open at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, (home of the Indiana Pacers), Spectrum Center (home of the Charlotte Hornets), Scotiabank Arena (home of the Toronto Raptors), Crypto.com Arena (home of the Los Angeles Lakers) and Paycom Center (home of the Oklahoma City Thunder).

Based on generative AI technology, the Just Walk Out frictionless shopping platform enables customers to take what they want without having to stop to check out, with the experience made possible by computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning technology that detects what customers take from or return to the shelves. 

These stores will all feature the new multi-modal AI foundation that Amazon launched in July 2024 to support its Just Walk Out checkout-free platform, which is used by Amazon in its physical stores and also licensed to other retailers. 

The new model analyzes data from cameras and sensors throughout the store simultaneously, instead of looking at which items shoppers pick up and put back in a linear sequence.

This enables the Just Walk Out system to analyze multiple store information inputs, such as cameras and weight sensors, and prioritize the most important data to accurately determine the variety and quantity of items selected.