Shelf Image Monitoring for Real-Time Product Allocation Checks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for managing product allocation on shelves, such as image recognition and RFID tags, are inefficient, particularly in busy periods, and require manual intervention, making real-time inventory management difficult.
Innovation Solution
A shelf space allocation management system that includes an image acquisition part, an allocation status determination part, and an execution determination part, using a mobile imaging device to capture images and determine product type and allocation status, allowing for automated product allocation inspections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual product checking is performed by clerks, then product allocation can be monitored, but efficiency decreases during busy periods and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service monitoring where the imaging device automatically captures images of products on shelves and the image processing unit autonomously analyzes them to determine product allocation status, eliminating the need for manual clerk intervention and enabling continuous monitoring even during busy periods
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical manual inspection process with an automated optical system consisting of imaging devices and image processing units that automatically capture and analyze product images, substituting human labor with automated technological systems
2Extent of automation
If RFID tags are attached to products for automated checking, then product monitoring is automated, but operational costs increase due to tag attachment requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates optical copies (images) of products using imaging devices and processes these image copies to extract product information and determine allocation status, eliminating the need for physical RFID tags and their associated infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts product identification and allocation information directly from visual images of products, removing the requirement for RFID tags and their attachment processes by deriving all necessary data from optical capture alone
3Measurement precision
If mobile cameras are moved under predetermined procedures to capture product images, then image recognition can be performed, but real-time monitoring becomes difficult and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous operation by having imaging devices continuously or periodically capture images of products on shelves, with the image processing unit continuously analyzing these images to provide real-time product allocation monitoring without interruption or predetermined procedural pauses
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-positioning imaging devices to face shelves and pre-configuring the image processing unit with product database information, enabling immediate real-time monitoring without requiring procedural movement or setup during operation
Data Source
AI summary
A shelf space allocation management device manages products allocated on shelves aligned in a store by use of an image captured by an imaging device. The shelf space allocation management device acquires an image including a position assumed to be changed in allocation status of each product on each shelf; it determines whether the type and the allocation status of each product reflected in the image match the predetermined type and the predetermined allocation status; then, it determines whether to execute a product allocation inspection based on the determination result. Herein, the shelf space allocation management device specifies a position at which a person conducts a behavior to cause any change in the allocation status of each product on each shelf, and therefore it may control the imaging device to capture an image including the position. It is possible to carry out a product allocation inspection for each period determined in advance depending on the type of each product, or it is possible to carry out a product allocation inspection being triggered by a customer purchasing each product.