Seamless shopping at Chet’s Place with new A.I. technology

Dining Services at Minnesota State introduced a new AI technology called Mashgin, which allows students to purchase needed products in less than 19 seconds.

General Manager for Dining Services Jamie Waterbury said the AI point-of-sale system uses 10-camera technology that recognizes products students are trying to buy in seconds. The AI system has learned from pictures on the Internet and is globally connected to other Mashgin systems. Moreover, the system continuously learns from each transaction, and recognizes different products as soon as they are on camera.

“To give you an example, when we put the Pepsi bottle on there for the first time, it will recognize it right away,” said Waterbury. “It already had 700 pictures of it because all the other locations uploaded that many pictures. So it was learning, as soon as we set it on there, that this is a product we have.”

Mashgin recognizes products from different angles. However, students must refrain from laying products on each other as Mashgin may not recognize them. In case Mashgin does not identify a product, students can scan it using the scanner embedded in Mashgin.

“As long as everything’s spaced out, it picks it up real quick,” said Waterbury. “It is two seconds, and Mashgin can tell whatever the product is. If you have a lot of stuff, eventually it will get down the list, and it will say, ‘Do you want to bag it?’”

If students decide they do not want an item Mashgin has scanned, they may remove it from the system without touching any screens. Once students are ready, they may pay for the products using a card, Apple Pay or Dining Dollars.

Mashgin was brought to Chet’s Place to save students’ time when shopping, as the cashier lines can get long.

“So it takes the time out of a student waiting in line, and they can just come and do this real seamlessly,” said Waterbury. “It will take them about two minutes. Just put it on here and then pay for it. Now, from when they set it on to when they’re paying, it is just 19 seconds.”

Dining Services is testing how this technology will affect students’ shopping experiences. Once the Dining Services survey is published, students can share their experiences using the new technology. At this moment, students can visit Chet’s and try the new AI system for their purchases. 

“We’re excited for it. This is something we have been discussing for a while. And we are always trying to bring innovation and new technology. I think this speaks to much of what students are looking for,” said Waterbury.

Write to Amalia Sharaf at amal.sharafkhodjaeva@mnsu.edu