Remote Commodity Purchase System with Image-Based Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aged or remotely located individuals face challenges in shopping as they cannot physically select or purchase additional commodities while someone else is shopping on their behalf, limiting impulse buys and flexibility in store purchases.
Innovation Solution
A commodity purchase system comprising a requester terminal, a visitor terminal, and a relay server that allows remote selection and purchase of commodities through image capture, transmission, and registration, enabling users to select and purchase items as if they were physically present in the store.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a requester asks another person to purchase commodities on their behalf, then the requester can avoid traveling to the store, but the requester loses the ability to select and purchase additional commodities in person
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a virtual copy of the store environment by capturing images of commodities and displaying them on the requester's terminal. The requester can browse, select, and purchase commodities by interacting with these images remotely, eliminating the need for physical presence while maintaining full selection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The visitor acts as an intermediary between the requester and the physical commodities. The visitor captures images of available commodities, transmits them to the requester, and then executes the requester's selection decisions by scanning and registering the chosen commodities at checkout
2Loss of time
If the requester is not present in the store, then travel time and effort are reduced, but the opportunity for impulse purchases and additional selections is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The requester can preliminarily browse commodity images and make selections before the visitor arrives at the checkout. The system allows the requester to pre-select commodities from captured images, so that when the visitor reaches the register, the selection is already made and ready for immediate processing
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous shopping action by allowing the requester to browse and select commodities in real-time as the visitor moves through the store. The image capture and transmission enable uninterrupted shopping decision-making without the breaks that would occur in traditional remote shopping arrangements
3Ease of operation
If traditional remote shopping is used, then the requester can shop from home, but accurate registration and settlement of desired items becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by capturing images of commodities, displaying them to the requester for confirmation, and then using those same images as the basis for registration. The requester can visually verify the commodity being registered by viewing the captured image, ensuring accurate matching between selection and registration
Solution Approach 2:
The captured image serves as a visual copy of the actual commodity that the visitor is holding or near. This copy is transmitted to the requester for selection and then used by the visitor to identify and scan the actual commodity, ensuring that the registered item matches the requester's intention exactly
Data Source
AI summary
A commodity purchase system for assisting a customer not in a store in making a purchase includes a relay server, a first terminal, and second terminal. The first terminal captures an image of commodities in the store, and the second terminal displays the image and detects a user selection operation at a position in the image, and then issues a scan request with information indicating a position in the image at which the selection operation was been made. Upon receipt of the scan request, the first terminal, display the image on which the selection operation was made with the position of the selection operation being marked in the image. The first terminal can then be used to scan one of the commodities and transmit, to the relay server, scanned commodity information. The relay server then registers the scanned commodities for purchase.