AR Shelf Overlay for Real-Time Discount Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Customers face difficulty in identifying discounts and incentives available for products on store shelves while shopping, as this information is not typically displayed alongside the items.
Innovation Solution
A networked system that uses augmented reality to provide users with a pictorial representation of store shelves, overlaying icons indicating available incentives for products, accessed through a client-server architecture and utilizing modules for inventory identification, search, location mapping, and display on mobile devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If discount information is not displayed on store shelves, then shelf space and product presentation remain simple and uncluttered, but customers cannot easily identify which discounts apply to which items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobile device as an intermediary between the customer and the discount information. The mobile device captures images of shelf labels and uses OCR technology to extract and display discount information, serving as a mediator that bridges the gap between the physical shelf environment and the digital discount data without requiring physical changes to the shelves themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical approach of physically displaying discount information on shelves with an electronic/digital system. Instead of using physical signs, stickers, or labels on the shelves, the system uses mobile device cameras, image processing algorithms, and digital displays to present discount information to customers.
2Ease of operation
If discount information is displayed on store shelves, then customers can easily see incentives, but shelf space becomes cluttered and product presentation is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device acts as an intermediary that accesses discount information from remote databases rather than requiring physical display space on the shelves. The system mediates between the customer's need for information and the shelf's need to remain uncluttered by retrieving data electronically.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves discount information from the two-dimensional shelf surface to the three-dimensional space of mobile device display. By projecting information onto the mobile device screen rather than the shelf surface, the system adds a new dimension for information presentation that does not compete for shelf space.
3Loss of information
If physical discount signs are placed on shelves, then incentive information is visible, but the system becomes complex and requires manual updates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual physical sign placement and updating with an automated electronic system. Mobile device cameras capture shelf label images, OCR software automatically extracts discount information, and the system queries remote databases to retrieve and display current pricing and incentive data, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service functionality where the mobile device and associated software automatically perform the tasks of identifying, retrieving, and displaying discount information without requiring store employees to manually update signs or provide information to customers.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for providing information based on a user's location are described. A system may include an inventory module to identify an instance of a product within a field of vision of a user. A search module may identify incentives to purchase the product. A location module may generate a pictorial representation of the field of vision where an image of the product is located within the pictorial representation based on the position of the product in the field of vision of the user. A mapping module may map an icon representing at least one of the one or more incentives to a location within the pictorial representation corresponding to the position of the product. A display module may provide a user interface including a display comprising the icon located within the pictorial representation at a location corresponding to the position of the image of the product.