What If Your Favorite Store Had This Technology?

If you’ve ever wavered in your decision between waiting in two lines, then you’ll appreciate the new technology that’s currently being tested in a Midwestern grocery store.

A computer vision platform, Feloh uses the simple idea of a checkout lane light and expands it to the colors of green, orange, and red at varying heights to designate the fastest line and help customers check out quicker.

“I looked at thermal imaging. I looked into ultrasonic sensors on the floor,” said creator Jacob Richards in an interview with Silicon Prairie News. “It finally came down to, ‘We really need vision technology.’”

The system pairs a tiny camera above each lane to determine wait time, which is reflected in the cashier light that contains 833 LED bulbs to display the range of colors. In addition, the lights can blink at different interval speeds so managers can quickly determine the priority of cashier requests for assistance.

Feloh is currently only available at a Hy-Vee in Papillion, Nebraska. The Midwestern supermarket chain is set to introduce the technology at four more locations in Nebraska and Iowa in the near future, but Richards is hopeful his idea can quickly grow to save time for many more people.

“Our goal right now is 5 stores early next year, 50 stores by end of next year, and 150 the year after that,” Richards said.