Geolocation Gift Alert System with Inventory Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gift shopping methods fail to assist users in locating desired gift items while shopping, as they primarily focus on organizing and suggesting ideas rather than providing location-based information about available products.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing geolocation technology to notify users of nearby merchants selling items on their wish lists or gift registries, incorporating GPS and indoor positioning systems like iBeacon or Eddystone, which compares user location with merchant inventories and sends alerts about proximity, price, and availability of items, allowing users to filter notifications based on personal preferences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wish list and gift registry systems are implemented, then gift idea organization is improved, but location-based product identification capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the wish list/gift registry organization functionality with location-based detection capabilities. The system combines database storage of gift items with GPS/geofencing technology to simultaneously provide both organized gift ideas and real-time location-based product identification, resolving the contradiction by integrating previously separate functions into a unified system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves multi-functionality by enabling a single platform to serve multiple purposes: organizing gift ideas, tracking wish lists, providing location-based detection, and identifying nearby products. This universal approach allows the system to address both the organization need and the location-based detection need without requiring separate systems.
2Ease of operation
If online shopping lists and wish lists are used, then gift idea generation is improved, but actual product location assistance is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-storing gift ideas and wish lists in a database before the user needs location assistance. When the user activates the location-based feature, the system has already organized the gift ideas and can immediately provide location-based product identification, combining both gift idea generation and product location assistance capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static online shopping lists to dynamic location-aware assistance. The system dynamically adjusts its functionality based on the user's needs and location, providing both gift idea generation when needed and real-time product location assistance when the user is physically present at potential purchase locations.
3Productivity
If geolocation technology is added to assist product location, then product location assistance is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer in the form of a server-based system that mediates between the user's mobile device and the merchant databases. This intermediary handles the complex geolocation processing, database queries, and coordination tasks, allowing the mobile application to remain relatively simple while providing sophisticated product location assistance through the server's computational resources.
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
Enhances the gift shopping experience by helping users locate and purchase desired gifts efficiently, reminding them of upcoming events, and providing price comparisons across merchants, thus improving the overall gift-giving process.
Implementation Method 1
The geolocation of the mobile device may be identified using GPS technology
Implementation Method 2
The technology utilizes geolocation identification of the user and employs databases of wish lists, merchant locations, and merchant inventories to inform users of when they are close to a merchant selling an item
Implementation Method 3
The geolocation of the user may be identified using GPS technology, indoor positioning systems such as Apple's iBeacon, Google's Eddystone, or the like
Data Source
AI summary
A system using a mobile device and computing device connected to a network includes an item list database containing information relating to gift items of interest, and a merchant database containing information on merchant geolocations and inventories. The mobile device uses geolocation identification software utilizing GPS technology to pinpoint the mobile device's geolocation. The computing device compares the mobile device's geolocation to the merchant geolocations and compares the merchant inventories with the items of interest. If a merchant located within a threshold proximity of the mobile device has as item of interest in its inventory, the computing device sends an alert over the network to the mobile device indicating information relating to the merchant and item of interest offered for sale.