Amazon may be facing new competition from Microsoft on its cashierless, automated store technology, according to a new report from Reuters out this morning. The report claims Microsoft is in the process of developing its own systems for tracking what people place in their shopping carts, but doesn't offer the details of how Microsoft's technology operates, or how it may differ from others on the market. Presumably, it would be similar to existing systems, like Amazon's. The Amazon Go convenience stores utilize a complex network of sensors on shelves, cameras, and A.I. to track what people pick up and place in their bag. Other startups are working on their own machine vision-powered checkout systems, as well, like Standard Cognition, AiFi, and AVA Retail, for example.

While Amazon continues to test out its cashier and checkout-less Go stores, Reuters reports that Microsoft is working on similar technology. Besides a number of partners who are working on products in the vein of Amazon Go -- which allows shoppers to simply take items off the shelf, put them in their cart and leave with a bill automatically tabulated based on computer vision watching what they buy -- it has an internal team that has tried out using cameras attached to shopping carts and mobile apps. The report calls out a small team within the company's Business AI group dedicated to retail tech, and said CEO Satya Nadella recommended a device that could live on-site to manage cameras without transferring data to the cloud. Microsoft isn't new to the space and in 2017 it showed off a slew of retail-focused products at the National Retail Federation's Big Show event that included a version of the Skip mobile app that's in testing in grocery stores. With Skip, shoppers scan each item as they shop using the app, then check out on their phone when they've finished.