Optimized Shopping Route Generation Using Store Maps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Consumers face inefficiencies while shopping as they often traverse multiple aisles in large stores to find items on their shopping lists, with digital lists not fully addressing the issue of repeated crossings and time wastage.
Innovation Solution
A mobile computing device system that determines product waypoints and optimizes shopping routes based on an electronic shopping list, using GPS coordinates and store maps to minimize distance and time traveled, while also grouping items by type and location for efficient navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If consumers use a digital shopping list to organize items, then they can remember their items better, but they still have to traverse multiple aisles and cross the store repeatedly to find all products
Solution Approach 1:
The shopping list is segmented into logical groups (e.g., produce, dairy, meat, pantry items) and each group is assigned to its corresponding physical location in the store. The system then creates an optimized route that segments the shopping journey into location-based segments, allowing consumers to systematically work through grouped items in each section without randomly traversing the entire store multiple times.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary routing calculations before the consumer enters the store. By pre-determining the optimal path through the store based on the shopping list items and store layout, the system eliminates the need for consumers to make repeated trips across aisles. The route is planned in advance, specifying the sequence of locations to visit and items to purchase at each location.
2Reliability
If consumers take a brute force approach to shopping by crossing the store multiple times to find all items, then they can ensure they find everything on their list, but they waste significant time and effort
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time feedback to the consumer during the shopping process. As consumers complete items on their optimized route, the system updates their progress and can recalculate the route if new items are added or if items are found at different locations than expected. This feedback mechanism ensures completeness of the shopping list while maintaining optimal efficiency throughout the journey.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts routing parameters based on the shopping list contents, store layout, and consumer preferences. By changing parameters such as the sequence of locations visited, the grouping of items by location, and the optimization criteria (e.g., minimizing distance vs. minimizing time), the system adapts to different shopping scenarios while ensuring all items are purchased efficiently.
3Adaptability or versatility
If stores have dozens of aisles and sections to accommodate various products, then they can offer a wide variety of items, but consumers face difficulty navigating and finding specific products
Solution Approach 1:
The system acts as an intermediary between the consumer and the complex store layout. It translates the consumer's shopping list into a navigational plan that accounts for the store's extensive aisles and sections. The system mediates by providing turn-by-turn directions, location information for each item, and an optimized path that simplifies navigation through the complex store environment without requiring the consumer to mentally map the entire layout.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for optimizing a shopping agenda are disclosed. The techniques include receiving an electronic shopping list containing one or more items, each item indicating a product sold by a retailer. The techniques further include obtaining a store map, the store map being indicative of a layout of a store associated with the retailer. The techniques further include determining one or more product waypoints based on the one or more items in the electronic shopping list and the store map, each product waypoint of the one or more product waypoints corresponding to one of the one or more items and being indicative of a location of the product indicated by the item in the store. The techniques also include determining a route traveling through each of the one or more product waypoints and providing the route for display.