Modular Display System with Sensor-Based Power Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing in-store display technologies face challenges such as high deployment and maintenance costs, limited customization options, short battery life, wasteful disposal, and inefficiencies in updating advertising content, which hinder their effectiveness in capturing customer attention in a rapidly changing retail environment.
Innovation Solution
A modular, low-cost active display system with reusable and disposable components, equipped with sensors to optimize battery life and power consumption, and a cloud-based content management system for efficient content updates, allowing for frequent and cost-effective changes in display content and configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If in-store displays are constantly active to maximize customer interaction, then customer attention is captured effectively, but power consumption increases and battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The display system alternates between active and sleep states based on sensor detection. When motion is detected within a threshold distance, the display transitions to active state to engage customers. When no motion is detected, it enters sleep state to conserve battery power, thus achieving periodic action that balances customer interaction effectiveness with power consumption management
2Loss of substance
If in-store displays are made reusable to reduce waste and cost, then environmental impact is reduced and long-term costs decrease, but maintenance requirements increase and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The display system is divided into modular components: a reusable core structure containing electronics and battery, and replaceable display elements (screens, housings, advertising materials). This segmentation allows the core to be reused while damaged or outdated display elements can be independently replaced, maintaining reliability while reducing waste
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables recovery and reuse of the core electronic components and battery pack while allowing disposal or replacement of consumable display elements. This approach recovers valuable components for continued use while discarding only the necessary wear-prone parts, reducing overall waste and maintenance burden
3Adaptability or versatility
If in-store displays are customized for each campaign to maximize advertising effectiveness, then message relevance increases, but deployment cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The core display unit is designed as a universal platform that can accommodate multiple different display elements and advertising content. The same core hardware can be reused across different campaigns by simply changing the display elements (screens, housings, graphics), eliminating the need for custom hardware deployment for each campaign and reducing overall complexity
4Use of energy by moving object
If in-store displays require daily activation and deactivation to conserve power, then battery life is extended, but maintenance effort and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The display system uses motion sensors to automatically detect customer presence and autonomously transition between sleep and active states without requiring manual intervention. The system self-manages its power state based on environmental conditions, eliminating the need for daily activation/deactivation maintenance while still achieving power conservation goals
Data Source
AI summary
The invention disclosed provides a novel solution to the problems of the prior art. The device provides a low-cost active display system capable of use in many free-standing configurations. The device incorporates a modular design that has both reusable and non-reusable elements. The modular design further accommodates specially designed display screens which are electronically modified to match different battery configurations to maximize battery life. The device incorporates various sensors to recognize certain ambient conditions, customer proximity and customer approach direction. In one embodiment, the display largely remains dormant until a first long range trigger signal is detected, at which time the device reactivates the modified display and a second short range trigger signal is detected which then retrieves content from the memory to display it. The result is drastically extended battery life and reduced maintenance cost.