Gait Analysis Identity Verification for Frictionless Retail Checkout
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for associating a customer with a user account in physical locations require customers to demonstrate possession of identity verification tokens, such as cards or passcodes, which introduces friction and inconvenience in the transactional experience.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing gait analysis as an identity verification layer, where a camera captures and processes video image data to generate a unique gait signature, allowing customers to be identified and associated with their user accounts without the need for additional tokens, enabling seamless and robust customer identification and account association.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional token-based verification methods are used to identify customers and associate them with user accounts, then reliability of account association is maintained, but ease of operation deteriorates due to requiring customers to present tokens and complete checkout procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical token presentation system with an optical gait analysis system. Cameras capture video data of customers walking, and computer vision algorithms extract gait signatures to identify customers and associate them with user accounts, eliminating the need for physical token handling and manual checkout procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The gait analysis system enables automatic customer identification and account association without requiring customer action. The system passively captures gait data as customers naturally walk through the store, automatically matches it to stored gait signatures, and completes account association in the background, allowing customers to simply shop and leave without active participation in the verification process
2Reliability
If token presentation requirements are imposed on customers for account verification, then reliability of transaction security is improved, but loss of time increases due to checkout procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs gait signature extraction and matching in advance of the actual transaction. Customer gait data is captured and processed continuously as they move through the store, so that by the time they reach the checkout point, their identity is already verified and their account is ready for automatic debiting, eliminating the time-consuming checkout procedure
Solution Approach 2:
The gait analysis system operates continuously as customers walk through the store, constantly updating their position and maintaining active identification. This continuous tracking eliminates the need for discrete verification events at specific points in time, allowing seamless transition from identification to transaction completion without interruption to the customer's shopping flow
3Productivity
If manual checkout procedures are required for transaction completion, then reliability of payment verification is maintained, but productivity decreases due to friction in the transactional experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual checkout procedures with an automated system that uses computer vision to track customers, extract gait signatures, match them to user accounts, and trigger automatic payment processing. This substitution eliminates the need for customers to interact with cashiers or payment terminals, dramatically increasing transaction throughput while maintaining security through biometric verification
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary automated checkout system that acts as a mediator between the customer and the payment processing infrastructure. This intermediary continuously monitors customer movement, verifies identity through gait analysis, and automatically initiates payment transactions, eliminating the need for direct customer-merchant interaction while ensuring reliable payment verification through multiple verification layers
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides for identity verification and account association utilizing the gait of a customer. A camera may be used to obtain image data such as video image data that includes a representation of the customer walking. This may occur as the customer approaches, enters, or otherwise walks about the physical location. One or more computer vision and gait recognition techniques can be applied to the image data to generate a gait signature for the customer. The gait signature can be matched to a stored gait signature that is associated with a particular user account, thereby identifying and associating the customer with that particular user account. The user account can be accessed and certain actions performed by or attributed to the customer can trigger certain events in the user account.