Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Jiajun Zhao

Smita Joshi

Bilyana Slavova

Siddharth Lathia

Margaret Draughon Poole

Longlong Zhu

Dilip Kumar

Nishitkumar Ashokkumar Desai

Ammar Chinoy

Waqas Syed Ahmed

Danny Guan

Frank Florian Liberato, Jr

Pranab Mohanty

Joachim Sebastian Stahl

Shrivatsan Vasudhevan

Kartik Muktinutalapati

Joseph M Alyea

Maxwell Aaron Corman

Karen Arango

Ivan Stankovic

Ejaz Ahmed

Hue Tuan Thi

Sanjay Dash

Chris Broaddus

Austen Groener

Xiaoxia Shi

Biraj Gauli

Yuzhou Feng

This disclosure is directed to techniques in which a first user in an environment scans visual indicia associated with an item, such as a barcode, before handing the item to a second user. One or more computing devices may receive an indication of the scan, retrieve image data of the interaction from a camera within the environment, identify the user that received the item, and update a virtual cart associated with the second user to indicate addition of the item.

Analyzing sensor data to identify events

This disclosure describes, in part, systems for enabling physical retail stores and other facilities to implement both automated- and manual-checkout techniques for customers of the stores and/or facilities. For example, the described systems may enable a retail store to implement technology where users are able to pick items from shelves and other inventory locations and exit the store without performing manual checkout of the items, as well as technology to allow users to pay for their items using point-of-sale (POS) and/or other manual-checkout techniques. The systems described herein also generate associations between users and carts within the stores to prevent fraudulent transactions within these hybrid environments.

Associating carts and users in hybrid environments

Described is a multiple-camera system and process for re-identifying a user located in a materials handling facility based on user patterns and/or descriptors representative of the user. In one implementation, a user pattern and/or a plurality of descriptors representative of a user are maintained as a position of a user is tracked through a materials handling facility. If the tracking of the user is lost, the last known position is stored with the user pattern and/or descriptors. If a new object is detected and confirmed to be a user, a user pattern and/or descriptors of the new object are compared with the stored user pattern and/or descriptors to determine if the new object is the user.

Updating a position of a user within a materials handling facility

Features are disclosed for recognizing network-based user in a physical location. A system is provided for generating and detecting a scannable code. A time-sensitive scannable code unique to the user may be generated and presented by an electronic device such as a smartphone. The time-sensitive scannable code may be scanned at transaction terminal in the physical store. Using the scannable code, the system may securely determine that user profile information from the user's network-based activity may be provided to the transaction terminal for use in the physical location.

Secure scannable code systems and methods

This disclosure describes techniques for determining when to transition a service-provider application between an in-store mode of operation and an online mode of operation using time as a proxy for location of a mobile device executing an application. When a user arrives at a physical location of the service provider, the user may provide an indication of this arrival via the application. In response, the application may transition from the online mode of operation to the in-store mode of operation. Further, the application may set a timer for a predefined amount of time and, after this amount of time elapses, may transition from the in-store operation mode back to the online operation mode.

Time-based check-in for mobile-device applications

Re-establishing tracking of a user within a materials handling facility

Growing community of inventors

Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Jiajun Zhao