Motorized Transport Unit Localization Using Light IDs
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Solution Overview
Problem
In modern retail environments, there is a need to improve customer experience and convenience, as customers often go unassisted during peak hours due to insufficient trained employees, leading to issues like abandoned shopping carts, messy aisles, and inventory management challenges, which can result in low customer satisfaction and increased competition from online shopping.
Innovation Solution
A shopping assistance system utilizing motorized transport units controlled by a central computer system to assist customers and workers by moving items, maintaining facility cleanliness, and optimizing inventory placement, equipped with user interfaces and location detection systems for efficient navigation and task management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If more employees are hired to assist customers during peak hours, then customer service quality improves, but labor cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The motorized transport unit enables self-service by autonomously navigating the retail facility, detecting customer locations through wireless communications, and automatically transporting shopping carts to requested destinations without requiring employee intervention. This eliminates the need for additional labor during peak hours while maintaining service availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual cart retrieval and transport with an automated motorized transport unit equipped with wireless communication capabilities, sensors, and autonomous navigation systems. This substitution eliminates human labor requirements while improving service reliability during peak periods.
2Stability of the object's composition
If manual monitoring of shopping carts and inventory is increased, then facility organization improves, but employee workload increases
Solution Approach 1:
The motorized transport unit incorporates sensors and wireless communication systems that continuously monitor facility conditions, customer locations, and cart positions. This feedback mechanism enables real-time detection and response to organizational needs, maintaining facility stability without requiring manual monitoring by employees.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-monitoring and self-regulation by automatically detecting facility conditions through integrated sensors and adjusting its operations to maintain organization. The transport unit independently tracks its own position, customer requests, and environmental factors, eliminating the need for employee oversight.
3Device complexity
If traditional cart retrieval systems are used, then system simplicity is maintained, but customer waiting time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The motorized transport unit performs multiple functions including autonomous navigation, customer location detection through wireless communications, cart transportation, and facility monitoring within a single integrated system. This multi-functionality reduces customer waiting time while the system maintains reasonable complexity through modular design and standardized communication protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatuses are provided, some apparatuses comprise: a location controller separate from a motorized transport unit, comprising: a transceiver configured to receive communications from the motorized transport unit; a control circuit; a memory storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to perform the steps of: obtain, from the communications, a unique light source identifier of a light source detected by the motorized transport unit, and relative distance information determined by the motorized transport unit through an optical measurement; process the at least one unique light source identifier and the relative distance information relative to a mapping of the shopping facility; and determine, in response to the processing, a location of the motorized transport unit within the shopping facility as a function of the at least one unique light source identifier and the relative distance information.