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\F2\CARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LABORATORY
\CCOMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
\CSTANFORD UNIVERSITY
\CSTANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305
\F0






					August 29, 1973



Dr. A. Michael Noll
58 Baker Street
Stirling, New Jersey 07980


Dear Mike:


\J	Thanks for your letter and the paper on the MECHO-MARKET.  
Something like it was put into operation under the name of KEY-DOOZLE
or something like that in the 1950's, I think, and it was reported in
either the \F1Wall Street Journal\F0 or \F1Fortune\F0.  It was unsuccessful.
The promoter claimed he just ran out of money, but the article hinted
there were also mechanical and customer acceptance problems.  Of course,
it might succeed if tried again with better technology.

	I would suggest elaborating the idea in two ways.  First, the
belt system needs to be worked out in a flexible way that takes into
account that a supermarket has 10,000 different items and these items
are changed almost daily.  Present dispensing systems tend to be
engineered for a fixed number of items of similar sizes.  I suspect that
something involving warehouse robots taking things off shelves would work
better.  Second, there is no need for the customer to wander around a
store.  He could sit in a chair and call pictures of displays on a screen,
but perhaps it needs to be worked out so that he has his choice among
keying the name of the item for items he or she is familiar with, or 
looking at pictures of others, or even physically examining items which
are quite new to him or her.

	I hope to include something like this in my discussion of the
automatic delivery system.

	Good luck with your new job, whatever it is.\.



					Sincerely yours,



					John McCarthy
					Professor of Computer Science
					Director, Artificial Intelligence Laboratory