Store Inventory Mapping With Radar-Optical Shelf Counting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inventory management systems struggle to accurately track and maintain perpetual inventory in retail environments due to obstructions and visibility limitations, leading to inefficiencies in restocking and reordering.
Innovation Solution
A robotic system equipped with imaging and radar scanning capabilities autonomously navigates a store, capturing photographic and radar data to create a composite inventory map, allowing for precise identification and quantification of product units, including those obscured by other items, and updates a realogram with accurate inventory states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional inventory management systems are used, then implementation is simple, but measurement precision and reliability of inventory tracking deteriorate due to obstructions and visibility limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensing modalities (optical cameras and radar sensors) into a unified inventory management system. The optical system captures visual information while the radar system penetrates obstructions, and their data is fused to achieve comprehensive inventory tracking that overcomes the limitations of either system alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a robotic platform as an intermediary that autonomously navigates the store and carries both optical and radar sensors. This mobile intermediary position allows the system to access inventory from multiple angles and positions, improving visibility while maintaining system manageability.
2Productivity
If manual inventory counting is performed, then device complexity is low, but productivity and time efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an autonomous robotic system that self-navigates through the store, automatically captures inventory data using onboard sensors, and transmits information to the central system. This self-service capability eliminates manual intervention while maintaining operational efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical counting processes with automated optical and radar sensing systems. The robotic platform uses non-contact sensing technologies to detect and quantify inventory, dramatically improving tracking speed while reducing the need for human labor.
3Measurement precision
If optical sensors alone are used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to inability to detect obscured products
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the detection parameter from purely optical to a combination of optical and electromagnetic (radar) parameters. The radar component operates at different wavelengths that can penetrate packaging materials and detect products behind obstructions, complementing the optical system's surface-level detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite sensing system that integrates optical cameras and radar sensors working together. Each modality compensates for the other's weaknesses, with optical providing detailed visual information and radar providing penetration capability through obstructions, achieving comprehensive product detection.
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 real-time, comprehensive inventory tracking, ensuring optimal restocking and reordering based on precise product type and quantity, improving inventory management efficiency and reducing stock discrepancies.
Implementation Method 1
record radar scans of inventory structures within the store during a scan cycle
Implementation Method 2
record images of inventory structures within the store
Data Source
AI summary
One variation of a method for maintaining perpetual inventory within a store includes: accessing a radar scan of an inventory structure within a store; accessing an optical image of the inventory structure; identifying a product type associated with the slot in a region of the optical image; retrieving a volumetric definition of the product type; locating a slot volume defining the slot in the radar scan; extracting a volumetric representation of a set of product units intersecting the slot volume in the radar scan; segmenting the volumetric representation by the volumetric definition to calculate a quantity of the set of product units occupying the slot; and updating a stock record of the store to reflect the quantity of the set of product units occupying the slot.