Military grade infrared cameras are taking over grocery stores.
The grocery store chain Kroger is starting to use high tech infrared cameras in their stores.
They’re not being installed to catch thieves, but rather to watch the traffic of the store and help the customers get in and out easier, by adequately staffing the check out lines.
The technology known as QueVision, takes the footage from the infrared cameras, and runs its it through software that calculates how many registers will need to be open in the next thirty minutes based on how many people have entered the store and how much time they are predicted to shop.
Infrared spectrum cameras are useful for distinguishing between humans and their surroundings, so the camera can pick out and count the number of people.
The cameras have been installed in about 24 hundred Kroger stores, and they are making a difference.
Customer wait times at the checkout counter average around 26 seconds compared to four minutes before Kroger installed the infrared cameras.
Marnette Perry, senior vice president of retail operations for Kroger said: “It’s remarkable that we’ve been able to improve execution as much as we have without a big price tag.”
