https://www.usine-digitale.fr/article/casino-presente-a-son-tour-...

https://www.usine-digitale.fr/artic...kbox-mais-sans-application-ni-camera.N1014124

Google Translate is a bit wonky, but here are some roughly translated tidbits and interesting parts I have highlighted in bold. This is Amazon Go style technology without the privacy concerns. Sounds like it is being rolled out in more than one location too in the future.

BlackBox is the Casino Group's new digital innovation demonstration. It differs from Amazon's Just Walk Out technology by the lack of a mobile app and cameras.





"This project, built from A to Z internally, is an additional step for the fluidity of the customer journey ", summarizes in the introduction Martin Calmels, director of innovation of the Casino group. "It marks the ambition to test a technology that makes customers autonomous in this journey", adds Lorraine Gentin, deputy director. For this, Casino still relied on technological partners: the Israeli Shekel Brainweigh for the sensors, as well as Ingenico , the group CB, and Oreka, a Reunionese company which publishes open source POS software

BlackBox was tested, as the American model, with employees A few weeks of tests to verify the functioning of this entirely autonomous store of 18 m², and accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Like Amazon Go - but also like Boxy, which L'Usine Digitale was able to test in September - the offer is small, with 300 items made up of savory and sweet snacks, as well as hygiene products, such as hydro-alcoholic gel and deodorant. An offer calibrated on repair products, without staff or cash register.

Another very important difference, no cameras inside. A device that allows the technology to be "RGPD compliant", since the solution is based only on sensors which, using artificial intelligence technologies, identify the products collected by their weight and constitute the basket of 'purchase.

In the age of "contactless", BlackBox obviously responds to health issues. Customers spend an average of less than a minute and only one person can enter. The absence of staff and of a collection station saves space. The installation is quick and requires few technical prerequisites: a power supply and a 4G network are necessary to install the container, which has three servers. The supply is done daily from a store of the sign located nearby. Unlike a store, there is no need to obtain a permit and no real estate costs, which is a game-changer for profitability.

The concept is intended to develop in traffic areas, such as airports and train stations, but also schools, universities and hospitals. Customers not necessarily recurring, hence the belief for the brand not to use a mobile application. However, there is the question of local shops, including those of the Monoprix group, which will face direct competition from this system. For Olivier Régo, director of the Monop 'brand, " it is not the same offer and we believe that there will be no cannibalization ".

This first container will be moved to a still confidential site, but probably in the Paris region, and open to the general public in about 8 weeks. The sign does not specify the roadmap, while recognizing that the establishment in areas such as airports, which are very affected by the health crisis and are experiencing a drop in the number of customers, will depend on the coming months.

"We have a development plan which is bound to evolve according to the health situation , continues Olivier Régo. The technology is expected to be used in traditional stores, especially with franchisees."

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(Reminder for anyone unfamiliar - Casino Group  is quoted on the Paris Stock Exchange, with the Rallye company as a majority shareholder. In 2017, its total revenue was €37.8 billion.)^[6]