NFC Display Device for Visually Impaired Shopping Assistance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Visually impaired or blind individuals face challenges in accessing product and price information on electronic display units, as existing solutions require specialized devices that are costly and difficult to handle, and often result in incorrect information recognition.
Innovation Solution
An electronic price and/or product-information display device with a near-field communication (NFC) system that wirelessly communicates with a reproduction device to provide acoustic output of product information, eliminating the need for additional devices and reducing the risk of incorrect information recognition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If specialized devices like OrCam MyEye are used to convert images to text and read aloud, then product information can be accessed by visually impaired persons, but the cost and complexity of the device increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of NFC tags on products and a smartphone application that mediates between the visually impaired user and the product information. Instead of requiring a specialized device, the system uses universally available smartphones with NFC capability to access product information through wireless communication, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining reliable access to information
Solution Approach 2:
The invention makes the solution universal by leveraging smartphones that visually impaired persons already possess for other purposes. The smartphone serves multiple functions: it acts as an information access device, a communication interface through NFC, and a personal assistant for shopping tasks. This eliminates the need for dedicated specialized hardware while maintaining reliable product information access
2Loss of information
If image capture and evaluation processes are used to recognize product information, then product data can be extracted, but the time required for image capture, evaluation, and text recognition increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-positioning NFC tags on products and pre-configuring the smartphone application to automatically detect and retrieve product information when the phone is brought near the tag. This eliminates the need for time-consuming image capture and processing, as the information is instantly available through wireless communication the moment the user approaches the product
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical/optical process of image capture and computer vision with a wireless communication-based system. Instead of using cameras and image evaluation algorithms to extract product information, the system uses NFC wireless communication to directly transfer product data from the product tag to the smartphone, dramatically reducing processing time while maintaining complete information extraction
3Loss of information
If computerized image evaluation is used to recognize text in captured images, then product information can be identified, but the risk of incorrect recognition increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the intermediary step of image evaluation by using direct wireless communication through NFC tags. The product information is stored on the NFC tag itself rather than being encoded in images that require computer vision processing. This direct data transfer approach completely eliminates the risk of recognition errors associated with optical character recognition and image evaluation algorithms
4Reliability
If additional special devices are required for shopping assistance, then product information can be accessed, but the handling and maintenance of the device becomes an additional everyday challenge
Solution Approach 1:
The invention makes the solution universal by using smartphones that visually impaired persons already possess for communication and entertainment. The smartphone serves as both the information access device and the shopping assistant, eliminating the need to learn and handle a separate specialized device. The maintenance burden is also eliminated as no additional hardware requires charging, updating, or technical support
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by utilizing the smartphone's existing NFC capability and the user's own device to access product information. The process requires no additional specialized equipment to handle, charge, or maintain. The smartphone automatically detects nearby NFC tags and retrieves product information through the application, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating ongoing operational challenges
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
Enables visually impaired or blind persons to access product information directly from display devices using commercially available NFC-compatible devices, simplifying shopping by providing accurate and immediate acoustic feedback without the need for image capture or complex device handling.
Implementation Method 1
a first short-range communication device, in particular, a first near-field communication device, NFC device for short, which is designed for wireless short-range communication with a reproduction device
Data Source
AI summary
Electronic price and/or product-information display device, display device for short, which is designed to visually reproduce price and/or product information of a product and which is designed to store reproduction data, said reproduction data representing the price and/or product information, wherein the display device comprises a first short-range communication device, in particular, a first near-field communication device, NFC device for short, which is designed for wireless short-range communication with a reproduction device, in particular, a reproduction device which is NFC-compatible, wherein the reproduction data comprises display-reproduction data which is determined in order to visually reproduce the price and/or product information by means of the electronic price and/or product display device itself, and output reproduction data, which allows an output to the reproduction device by means of wireless short-range communication and the acoustic reproduction of the price and/or product information at the reproduction device, in particular, in the form of audio and/or text reproduction data, and that the short-range communication device has access to the output reproduction data and is designed to output the output reproduction data in the course of wireless short-range communication.