New supermarket scanner recognizes items without bar codes

SALT LAKE CITY -- Toshiba, a Japanese electronics company, has developed a way to end the torment of "Price check, register four!"

The brand most known for its laptop and computer manufacturing has now developed a scanner that recognizes items in a supermarket without the use of a bar code. The Object Recognition Scanner, or ORS, utilizes pattern and color recognition technology developed by Toshiba.

A demonstration video posted by DigInfo, a Japanese technology news source, highlights the new product with descriptions provided by Toshiba's Keiichi Hasegawa.

Hasegawa addresses concerns that the new scanner would address, including part-time employees struggling to identify certain items, and the necessity to manually input a bar code if a scan does not properly register.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable features of the new scanner is its ability to discern between different types of fruits and vegetables. For example, the demonstration video shows the ability of the scanner to differentiate between Fuji, Jonagold, and Mutsu apples.

"Ordinarily, with a camera, the surroundings would appear as well," Hasegawa said. "But here, only the subjects like apples appear. That means the noise is eliminated from the beginning, so the scanner can recognize objects very fast, even while they're moving."

In addition to being able to scan fresh fruits and vegetables, the scanner will also be able to recognize items such as beverage cans and coupons.

Toshiba is currently working on developing a super-database of common market items, as well as developing a realistic method of shipping the scanners.

"Getting the scanner to learn items in a store isn't practical, so we'll ship it with a database of agricultural produce and other items as needed."

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