Inventory Capture System Using Voice and Image Recognition

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Solution Overview

Problem

Fashion and clothing retailers face challenges in accurately capturing customers' clothing inventories, as manual entry is time-consuming and difficult, especially for customers with color blindness or limited vocabulary, leading to suboptimal recommendations.

Innovation Solution

An inventory capture system using voice and image recognition, equipped with cameras capable of 360° views, infrared, and ultraviolet spectrum imaging, along with metadata capture, to automatically identify and catalog clothing items, facilitating easier inventory management and personalized recommendations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual entry is used to capture customer clothing inventory, then detailed information can be obtained, but the process is time-consuming and difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of clothing inventory informationVSAvoidtime required for inventory capture

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical entry with automated image capture and voice recognition systems. Multiple cameras capture images of clothing items, and voice recognition converts spoken descriptions into structured inventory data, eliminating the need for manual typing while maintaining information accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates visual copies of clothing items through multiple camera angles (front, back, side views) and stores these as digital representations in the inventory database, allowing accurate documentation without manual description of every detail.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Reliability

If manual entry is used to capture customer clothing inventory, then information can be recorded, but the process is difficult especially for customers with color blindness or limited vocabulary

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of clothing descriptionVSAvoiddifficulty of inventory capture process

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces the cognitive burden of manual description with automated image capture and voice recognition. Customers simply speak naturally about their clothing items, and the system processes this into accurate inventory records, eliminating difficulties related to color blindness or limited vocabulary.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces voice recognition and image processing as intermediaries between the customer and the inventory database. These intermediaries translate natural speech and visual input into structured data, bridging the gap between customer capability and system requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Loss of information

If comprehensive clothing details are captured manually, then accurate inventory information is obtained, but customer satisfaction decreases due to time and effort required

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecompleteness of clothing inventory dataVSAvoidspeed of inventory capture process

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces slow manual entry with parallel automated processes where multiple cameras simultaneously capture images from different angles while voice recognition processes spoken descriptions in real-time, achieving both completeness and speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by automatically organizing and storing captured images and voice data into structured inventory records during the capture process itself, rather than requiring subsequent manual processing, thus maintaining both completeness and efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11681978B2Inventory capture system

Publication Date: 2023.06.20 INTEL CORP

AI summary

The inventory capture system, method and apparatus (i.e., the inventory capture system) may provide for creating and updating an inventory of clothing for a user. The inventory capture system may use voice and image recognition to capture an inventory of clothing and provide users the ability to enhance the captured details about an inventory of clothing with annotations. Moreover, the inventory capture system may provide a way to facilitate retailers and users to leverage the user's existing inventory of clothing and augment the user's inventory of clothing with shared, purchased and/or rented clothing.