Patrons of Pitt’s Petersen Events Center will now have an AI-powered market for snacks and beverages and can skip the sometimes lengthy concession lines.
The university announced Monday a second location for Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, “Pitt on the Go,” located at the Pete.
The initiative, a collaboration with Chartwells Higher Education, is an express market that offers fans a fast and frictionless way to shop.
The initial Just Walk Out technology is located at The Market at Towers, one of the on-campus convenience stores on Fifth Avenue.
“The University of Pittsburgh is fortunate to have a robust collaboration in place with Amazon,” Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke said in a statement. “The addition of Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology to our fan experience at the Petersen Events Center is yet another way that the two parties continue to work together to drive innovation in collegiate athletics.”
Customers can enter the store using a credit card and select items. Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology detects what shoppers take from or return to the shelves and creates a virtual shopping session.
When customers finish, they simply leave the store without waiting in line, and the payment method used to enter the store is charged for the items taken.
According to a news release, Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology uses artificial intelligence such as computer vision and deep learning techniques, including generative AI, to accurately determine who took what in any retail environment. This technology is designed to eliminate checkout lines and allow customers to spend less time shopping and more time getting on with their busy lives.
Pitt on the Go allows customers to grab snacks and beverages and bypass checkout lines.