Shoppers know this age-old dilemma¹ all to well - do you stick to your guns with the queue you're in? Or do you gamble on another queue and risk it all in the hope of gaining more ground?

 

Now, a system called ZipLine is promising² to help shoppers win that battle every time, by using infrared³ sensors⁵ to help them to pick the fastest queue.

 

The technology, developed by Cambridge Consultants⁶ looks at the length of queues and how fast they are moving to work out which is the best one to join.

 

Launched this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the concept combines the sensors with a long-range, low-power radio network.

 

Algorithms then convert the sensor⁴ data into useful information which can be displayed on a shopper's phone.

 

The firm behind ZipLine claims there are no privacy issues around the data it captures, as it does not obtain any identifiable data from customers.

 

According to Cambridge Consultants, it is also different from existing queue monitoring systems as it can handle queues that are not all in the same place.

 

The long-range radio system works over a number of miles and the technology could combine queue information from multiple outlets⁷.

 

The system is still being developed, but the firm told MailOnline it is reportedly in talks with retailers⁸ about using the technology.

点击收听单词发音