At Germany’s new grocery story of the future (already in use by residents of the present) shoppers can use mobile phones to check out while they shop. The store has created free software for your phone that allows you to use your camera to capture barcodes as you shop. Once finished, just press a button and all your purchases come up as a single bar code. Slide your phone under the barcode reader at an automated pay station, and your final amount comes up. Shoppers can then pay using cash, credit or debit cards, or with the touch of a finger, (once you register for fingerprint shopping). The store also features Roger the helpful German shop robot, an automated wine tasting bar and micro chipped meat. Take a tour with the BBC.
This is a lot like Albertsons failed experiment, Shop ‘n Scan. The problem is the human factor. People are dishonest and people steal. I have a friend was a manager at an Albertsons at the time and he said that they lost a ton of money on that venture. People would scan a cheaper item and then put the more expensive item in their cart.
I think japan has been using this type of mobile phone scans for years.