Frictionless Inquiry Processing via Image Recognition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Frictionless shopping experiences in stores lack efficient mechanisms for consumers to rapidly identify item prices and obtain running totals of goods, as scan terminals often lead to queues and do not provide a comprehensive interface for listing held items and their prices.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses cameras, a server, and user-operated devices with mobile apps to automatically identify consumers and display item information, including prices and totals, through image processing and machine-learning algorithms, allowing frictionless inquiry processing without the need for direct interaction with terminals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If scan terminals are used to provide item prices, then consumers can obtain pricing information, but queues form and the frictionless shopping experience is defeated
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables consumers to self-serve by automatically displaying item price information on their personal devices (smartphones, tablets, or wearables) through image recognition technology. When a consumer looks at an item or scans it with their device, the system automatically retrieves and displays pricing information, eliminating the need to interact with scan terminals and avoid queues entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mobile device as an intermediary between the consumer and the pricing information system. Instead of directly interacting with fixed scan terminals, consumers use their personal devices as mediators to access pricing information wirelessly, thereby avoiding physical queues while maintaining access to required information.
2Loss of information
If traditional checkout stations are used, then consumers can review their items and totals, but the frictionless shopping experience is compromised due to required interaction
Solution Approach 1:
The system transfers the function of reviewing items and totals from fixed checkout stations to the consumer's personal mobile device. The device automatically displays a running list of scanned items and their cumulative total, allowing consumers to review their shopping cart information without stopping at any terminal, thus maintaining the frictionless experience while providing complete transparency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the information display from a fixed spatial location (checkout station) to a portable dimension (mobile device). This dimensional shift allows consumers to access item listings and totals at any location within the store, eliminating the need to return to a specific checkout point and thereby removing interaction requirements.
3Loss of information
If manual price checking is implemented, then consumers can identify item prices, but the shopping process becomes slower and less frictionless
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual price checking mechanisms (physical scan terminals, printed price tags) with an automated electronic system using image recognition and wireless communication. The consumer's mobile device captures images or scans items, and the system automatically retrieves pricing information through optical recognition technology, dramatically increasing shopping speed while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-loading and caching pricing information in the mobile device or making it readily accessible through wireless communication before the consumer needs it. This allows instant display of prices without requiring real-time processing delays, thereby maintaining high shopping speed.
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 consumers to automatically access item details and running totals without queuing, enhancing the frictionless shopping experience by providing instant price information and transaction management through user-facing interfaces on devices or inquiry stations.
Implementation Method 1
A consumer is identified within an image as looking at a device. A user interface is caused to be automatically initiated on the device based on the consumer being identified as looking at that device.
Data Source
AI summary
Images capture an object that a person in a frictionless store is looking at. A user interface is automatically initiated on a device identified as the object. If the person is holding an item, the user interface is automatically placed in a state that displays the item details and pricing within the user interface and provides a link to all item descriptions in possession of the user within the frictionless store along with a running price total of all the items. If the person is not holding any item, the user interface is automatically placed in a state that displays item details and pricing within the user interface to all item descriptions in possession of the user within the frictionless store along with a running price of all items.