Autonomous Retail Drone Scanning for Accurate Product Location Mapping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Dynamic product placement in retail locations, such as big-box stores, makes it difficult for location-based services to accurately provide navigation to specific products due to constant changes in product locations from purchases, restocking, and displays, preventing effective implementation of product-specific services.
Innovation Solution
A self-navigating mobile computing device, like a drone or rover, equipped with scanning capabilities and beacon communications, autonomously moves through the retail space to identify and update product locations, linking scanned products to their positions and providing accurate location data to a location-based services server, enabling navigation for users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual methods are used to track product locations, then implementation is simpler, but accuracy and timeliness of location data deteriorate due to constant product movement
Solution Approach 1:
The drone autonomously navigates through the retail space, automatically scans products using its onboard scanner, determines its own location via beacon communications, and updates the product location database without human intervention. This self-service capability resolves the contradiction by eliminating manual tracking while maintaining high accuracy through automated systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs a mobile drone that can dynamically adapt its navigation path and scanning behavior based on real-time conditions in the retail space. The drone's ability to move freely and adjust its operation allows it to track constantly changing product locations accurately, resolving the contradiction between tracking accuracy and system complexity.
2Productivity
If automated drone scanning is implemented, then productivity and accuracy of product location tracking improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drone is designed as a multi-functional device that combines navigation, product scanning, location determination via beacon communication, and data transmission capabilities in a single platform. This universality resolves the contradiction by consolidating multiple functions into one device, improving productivity without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical tracking methods with an automated drone that uses optical scanning and wireless beacon communication for location determination. This substitution dramatically improves tracking speed and productivity while the modular design of the drone system manages the complexity increase.
3Reliability
If frequent manual updates of product locations are performed, then location data accuracy improves, but loss of time and operational efficiency worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The drone performs periodic automated scans of the retail space at scheduled intervals, automatically updating product location data without requiring manual intervention. This periodic action ensures location data reliability is maintained while eliminating the time loss associated with manual update operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous tracking of product locations through automated drone scanning operations that can run continuously or at frequent intervals. This continuity ensures location data remains reliable and current without the interruptions and time losses inherent in manual update processes.
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
This solution allows for accurate and automated product location tracking and navigation, scalable and requiring no human intervention, improving customer guidance and facilitating data analytics in dynamic retail environments.
Implementation Method 1
scanning each of the products with at least one scanner on the vehicle
Implementation Method 2
autonomously moving a vehicle through a retail space having products at three-dimensional product locations
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for drone-based scanning of products in a retail space, for providing location-based services at the retail space. A system may include a drone aircraft or other self-navigating vehicle. The drone or vehicle automatically moves along the shelves of the retail space, after business hours, scanning product identifiers, and feeds product location information to a location-based-services server. The location-based services server may then provide a map of the retail space with product locations on the map that is accessible to a user's mobile device when the user is in the retail space. In this way, users can be guided directly to the current locations of potentially thousands of products that dynamically change locations.