Product Image Recognition for Shelf Label Alignment Checks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to maintain consistency in the number and positional relationship between shelf labels and products due to errors in arrangement, such as misplacement or omission, leading to customer confusion.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus with a product recognition unit, shelf label recognition unit, and determination unit to identify and correct inconsistencies in the number and positional relationship between products and shelf labels using image analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual arrangement of shelf labels is performed, then flexibility in product lineup changes is improved, but consistency between shelf labels and products deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures images of products and shelf labels, automatically recognizes and compares their positions and relationships, then provides feedback by identifying inconsistencies. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures that manual arrangements maintain consistency without requiring constant human verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection and verification of shelf label arrangements with an automated image recognition system. The mechanical process of checking consistency is substituted by computer-based image processing and pattern recognition algorithms.
2Reliability
If automated image recognition is used to check shelf label arrangement, then consistency between shelf labels and products is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The image recognition system is designed to perform multiple functions: capturing images, recognizing products, identifying shelf labels, determining their relationships, and detecting inconsistencies. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate systems into a single integrated solution.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-verification by automatically comparing the recognized positions and relationships of products and shelf labels without requiring external manual inspection. The apparatus serves itself by providing automated consistency checking that would otherwise need human operators.
3Manufacturing precision
If frequent manual verification of shelf label positions is performed, then arrangement accuracy is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables continuous or periodic automatic verification of shelf label arrangements without interrupting store operations. Multiple images can be captured and processed sequentially, maintaining constant monitoring of product-shelf label relationships without requiring manual verification at each change.
Solution Approach 2:
The system can perform preliminary verification before inconsistencies become problematic by continuously monitoring arrangements. Early detection of misplaced shelf labels allows for prompt correction, preventing accumulation of errors that would require more extensive verification later.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus (2000) includes a product recognition unit (2020), a shelf label recognition unit (2040), and a determination unit (2060). The product recognition unit (2020) recognizes the number of types of products or positions of each type of products from a target image. The shelf label recognition unit (2040) recognizes the number or positions of shelf labels indicating information of the products from the target image. The determination unit (2060) determines whether or not there is an error in a relationship between the recognized number of types of products and the recognized number of shelf labels or in a relationship between the recognized positions of each type of products and the recognized positions of the shelf labels.