Acoustic Tag Encoding Product Info via Ambient Sound Reflection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic labelling systems for products require a portable power supply, making them environmentally unsustainable for large-scale use, and there is a need for a system to provide product information through audio technology without the need for energy harvesting or storage.
Innovation Solution
An acoustic tag system that generates a characteristic acoustic signal in response to ambient sound waves, allowing for the retrieval and display of product information using a user's computing device without the need for a battery power source, utilizing an acoustic reflector surface and a decoding application to encode and decode information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If electronic shelf labels are used to display product information, then product information can be displayed and updated, but the labels require portable power supply units such as batteries which are not environmentally sustainable for large-scale use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the electronic display system with an acoustic system. Instead of using electronic shelves with screens that consume battery power, the invention uses acoustic tags that reflect ambient sound waves to encode and transmit product information. The acoustic tags modulate reflected sound waves to carry data about products, eliminating the need for batteries while maintaining information display capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The acoustic tags utilize ambient sound waves already present in the environment (such as store announcements, customer conversations, or dedicated trigger sounds) to activate and transmit information. The system serves itself by harvesting energy and triggering signals from the existing acoustic environment rather than requiring dedicated power sources or active transmission components.
2Use of energy by moving object
If acoustic tags use ambient sound waves to generate acoustic signals, then no power supply source is required, but the system must rely on external sound triggers which may not always be available
Solution Approach 1:
The acoustic tags are designed to respond to multiple types of trigger sounds including ambient store announcements, customer conversations, and dedicated triggering devices. This multi-functionality ensures that the tags can operate reliably regardless of the specific acoustic environment, as long as some form of sound is present to trigger the information transmission.
3Device complexity
If acoustic reflector surfaces are used to encode information, then no additional components are needed on products, but the encoding capability is limited by the physical properties of the reflector surface
Solution Approach 1:
The acoustic reflector surfaces encode information by varying physical parameters such as surface area, shape, orientation, and material properties. These parameter variations allow the simple reflector surfaces to convey complex product information including product identification, pricing, and other details through the characteristics of the reflected and modulated sound waves.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient and sustainable product information display and retrieval through audio technology, eliminating the need for energy harvesting and providing a seamless shopping experience by using ambient sound waves to trigger and reflect encoded information.
Implementation Method 1
an acoustic reflector surface configured for generating a characteristic acoustic signal in response to a trigger signal received in a form of an ambient sound wave
Data Source
AI summary
The embodiments herein provide an audio information label/acoustic tag for delivering product information and system and method for reading an audio information label/acoustic tag. Accordingly, an acoustic tag system comprising an acoustic tag associated with an object is disclosed. The acoustic tag comprises an acoustic reflector surface configured for generating a characteristic acoustic signal in response to receiving a trigger in the form of an ambient sound wave and wherein the characteristic acoustic signal is an encoded form of information relating to the object associated with the acoustic tag and a decoding application installed on a user device, the decoding application configured for receiving the characteristic acoustic signal, decoding the characteristic acoustic signal in order to obtain the information embedded within the characteristic acoustic signal and displaying the information so obtained.