Electronic Visual Displays for Retail Product Availability Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for providing information in retail stores are inefficient, leading to nonuniform compliance with product-related guidelines and significant gaps in compliance due to the lack of continuous monitoring of dynamically changing product displays.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of electronic visual displays connected to retail storage containers, which can display information based on data related to products stored, labels, and sensor data, allowing for dynamic and automated information provision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual monitoring methods are used to provide information in retail stores, then implementation of product-related guidelines can be controlled, but efficiency is reduced and compliance uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service monitoring where the electronic visual display and sensor network automatically track product availability and compliance without human intervention. Sensors detect product presence and trigger appropriate display messages, eliminating the need for manual monitoring while ensuring consistent compliance across all retail locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical monitoring systems with an automated electronic system comprising sensors, processors, and display devices. This substitution transforms the monitoring process from human-dependent mechanical observation to an automated electronic detection and communication system, improving both efficiency and compliance uniformity.
2Reliability
If continuous monitoring of dynamically changing product displays is implemented, then compliance gaps are reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is segmented into independent functional modules: product detection sensors, data processing units, and electronic display components. Each module performs a specific function, allowing the system to achieve continuous monitoring capability while maintaining manageable complexity through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The electronic visual display system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it displays product information, indicates availability status, provides compliance verification, and communicates with the sensor network. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate systems, thereby maintaining compliance continuity without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
3Loss of information
If electronic visual displays are always visible to customers, then information accessibility is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic visual display operates periodically rather than continuously, activating only when sensors detect specific conditions such as product availability changes or customer proximity. This periodic operation ensures information is accessible when needed while minimizing energy consumption during periods when monitoring data indicates no changes require communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from sensor data to control display activation. When sensors detect that product availability has changed or when a customer approaches the display area, the system activates the display to provide updated information. This feedback-driven activation balances information accessibility with energy efficiency by displaying information only when relevant changes occur.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and computer-readable media are provided for selecting items for presentation on electronic visual displays in retail stores. In one implementation, a method may comprise: obtaining a plurality of images of products in a retail store; analyzing a first image to determine whether products of a particular product type are available at a first point in time; analyzing a second image to determine whether products of the particular product type are available at a second point in time; and based on the determination of whether products of the particular product type are available at the first point in time and the determination of whether products of the particular product type are available at the second point in time, selecting whether to display a particular item on an electronic visual display in the retail store.