Inventory System Using Sliding Level Indicator on Container Images
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current inventory systems for beverages, such as those used in restaurants and bars, are inaccurate and labor-intensive, failing to account for shrinkage due to spillage, evaporation, and inconsistent pouring, leading to significant errors and inefficiencies in tracking fluid levels in containers.
Innovation Solution
A computer-based system that uses a graphical user interface to display images of containers with a sliding level indicator, allowing users to accurately measure the volume of liquids remaining by positioning the indicator along the image, which can be input via a smartphone or other computing device, facilitating quick and precise inventory calculations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual inventory counting is performed during business hours, then inventory can be updated frequently, but measurement precision deteriorates due to distractions and inability to accurately estimate liquid levels in continuously consumed containers
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing images of containers at specific moments (when inventory is needed) rather than attempting continuous monitoring. The image capture occurs before the inventory calculation is required, preserving the state of containers as they were at that moment and eliminating the distraction problem of trying to measure continuously during business operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a visual copy (image) of the container and its liquid level state. This image serves as a permanent record of the container's state at the time of capture, allowing accurate measurement without physically interacting with or disturbing the actual container during business hours. The image can be analyzed later when conditions are more favorable for precise measurement.
2Measurement precision
If manual inventory counting is performed after hours, then measurement precision improves due to fewer distractions, but productivity deteriorates because inventory cannot be updated frequently and employees are tired
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables preliminary capture of container states during business hours when containers are still in their original positions and undisturbed. By capturing images at these earlier times, the system avoids the fatigue and distraction issues of after-hours counting while maintaining the ability to perform accurate measurements through the image analysis process.
Solution Approach 2:
The image copy preserves the container state as it existed during business hours, allowing the system to perform accurate measurements without requiring employees to physically count and estimate during tired after-hours periods. The visual record maintains measurement precision regardless of when the actual counting would have occurred.
3Adaptability or versatility
If employees perform manual inventory counting, then flexibility is maintained, but productivity deteriorates due to the time-consuming nature of the task requiring five to six man hours
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically capturing images of containers and calculating inventory levels without requiring employees to manually count and estimate. The image capture and measurement calculation are automated processes that eliminate the need for human intervention in the actual counting task, dramatically reducing the time required while maintaining flexibility in when inventory can be updated.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the mechanical manual counting process with an automated image-based system. Instead of employees physically counting containers and estimating liquid levels, the system captures visual data and uses computational methods to determine inventory levels, substituting human labor with automated technological processes that are much faster and more consistent.
4Productivity
If point of sale data is used to estimate beverage consumption, then productivity is improved with quick data availability, but measurement precision deteriorates due to failure to account for shrinkage, spillage, and inconsistent pouring
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates visual copies (images) of containers at specific time points to track actual physical state changes. This visual record allows the system to detect real shrinkage, spillage, and pouring inconsistencies that point-of-sale data cannot capture, while maintaining the speed of automated image capture and analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback by capturing actual visual states of containers and comparing them over time to identify discrepancies between expected and actual consumption. This feedback mechanism reveals shrinkage and pouring inconsistencies, allowing the system to correct and refine consumption data with greater precision while maintaining automated processing speeds.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer based system for taking the physical inventory of liquids dispensed in full and partially full containers. A database stores images of containers and their associated volumes. The containers to be inventoried are identified by a user and input to a computer at a graphical user interface (GUI) input/output. A computer causes the display of an image of the container and a sliding level indicator at the GUI. The level indicator is slidable along the image. The computer calculates a volume of liquid remaining in the container as a function of the position of the level indicator along the image of the container.