Reference Image Templates for Faster Product Shelf Identification

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Solution Overview

Problem

Manual inspection of price tag labels and products in large product storage facilities is time-consuming and increases operational costs, as workers could be performing other tasks if not involved in manual inspections.

Innovation Solution

An image capture device and computing system are used to create reference template images for detecting and recognizing products, involving image capture, product detection, cropping, clustering, and selecting reference template images to automate the inspection process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual inspection of products and price tag labels is performed, then product identification accuracy is maintained, but inspection time and operational costs increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduct identification accuracyVSAvoidinspection time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates reference template images that are copies of actual product appearances. These templates are stored and used for comparison during inspection, allowing the system to identify products by matching captured images against the reference templates rather than requiring manual verification of each product's unique characteristics

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical/manual inspection process with an automated image processing system. The system captures images of products and price tags, processes them through image analysis algorithms, and automatically identifies products by comparing captured images against stored reference templates, eliminating the need for human workers to manually inspect each item

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Measurement precision

If manual inspection of products and price tag labels is performed, then product identification accuracy is maintained, but operational costs increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduct identification accuracyVSAvoidoperational efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system creates and stores reference template images that replicate product appearances. During operational inspections, the system retrieves appropriate templates and compares them with captured images, enabling accurate product identification without requiring human inspectors to manually verify each product, thereby reducing labor costs and improving operational efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent automates the inspection process by replacing manual human inspection with an automated image capture and processing system. The system uses image analysis algorithms to automatically identify products and verify price tags, eliminating the need for human workers to perform these repetitive inspection tasks, thus reducing operational costs and increasing productivity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Productivity

If automated image processing is used to create reference templates, then inspection speed increases, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinspection speedVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the inspection process into distinct sequential steps: capturing images of products and price tags, processing images to extract key features, creating reference templates from the processed images, storing templates for later retrieval, and during inspection, retrieving templates and comparing them with new captured images. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall system architecture

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by creating and storing reference template images before actual inspection occurs. These templates are generated in advance from sample products and price tags, allowing the inspection process to simply retrieve and compare templates rather than analyzing products from scratch during inspection, thereby increasing inspection speed while keeping the system relatively simple

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20260044817A1Methods and systems for creating reference image templates for identification of products on product storage structures of a product storage facility

Publication Date: 2026.02.12 WALMART APOLLO LLC

AI summary

Systems and methods of creating reference template images for detecting and recognizing products at a product storage facility include an image capture device having a field of view that includes a product storage structure of the product storage facility, and a computing device including a control circuit communicatively coupled to the image capture device. The computing device obtains images of the product storage structure captured by the image capture device, analyzes the obtained images to detect individual products located on the product storage structure. Then, the computing device identifies the individual products detected in the images and crops each of the identified products from the images to generate cropped images. The computing device then creates a cluster of the cropped images and selects one of the cropped images as a reference template image of an identified individual product.