Shopping Space Mapping for Access-Restricted Cart Navigation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In modern retail environments, there is a need to improve customer experience and convenience, as customers often go unassisted during peak hours due to insufficient trained staff, and issues like abandoned shopping carts, messy aisles, and inventory mismanagement lead to low customer satisfaction, especially with increasing competition from online shopping.

Innovation Solution

A shopping assistance system utilizing motorized transport units controlled by a central computer system, which can move throughout the facility, assist with tasks such as cart retrieval, inventory management, and customer guidance, and integrate with user interfaces and location detection systems to enhance operational efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If more employees are hired to assist customers during peak hours, then customer service quality improves, but labor cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecustomer service availabilityVSAvoidlabor cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The shopping cart system enables customers to serve themselves through automated features including product location guidance, inventory checking, and navigation assistance, eliminating the need for additional staff during peak hours while maintaining service quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The mechanical system of human employees providing customer assistance is replaced with an automated electronic system embedded in shopping carts, which provides guidance, product information, and navigation services without requiring additional human labor

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Stability of the object's composition

If manual monitoring of shopping carts and inventory is increased, then store organization improves, but employee workload increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestore organizationVSAvoidemployee efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors cart locations, inventory levels, and aisle conditions through sensors and communicates this data back to the central control system, enabling automatic detection and response to organizational issues without requiring manual employee intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

Manual visual monitoring and physical cart retrieval tasks are replaced with an automated sensor-based system that tracks cart locations, detects aisle blockages, and manages inventory levels electronically

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Ease of manufacture

If traditional manual inventory management is used, then implementation cost is low, but inventory accuracy deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem implementation costVSAvoidinventory accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

Manual inventory counting and tracking methods are replaced with automated sensors, RFID tags, and electronic communication systems that continuously monitor inventory levels and product locations, significantly improving accuracy while keeping the system affordable through standardized components

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

4Ease of operation

If more staff are deployed for routine tasks like cart collection and inventory placement, then store maintenance improves, but operational cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestore maintenance qualityVSAvoidoperational cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables automatic cart retrieval through customer-initiated requests and automated inventory replenishment through sensor-triggered restocking alerts, reducing the need for staff to perform routine maintenance tasks while improving overall store maintenance quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS9534906B2Shopping space mapping systems, devices and methods

Publication Date: 2017.01.03 WALMART APOLLO LLC

AI summary

Systems, apparatuses and methods for mapping a shopping space are provided. A system for mapping a shopping space includes a plurality of motorized transport units, a store map database, and a central computer system. The central computer system being configured to divide the map of the shopping space into a plurality of sections, assign a unique section identifier to each of the plurality of sections in the shopping space, associate a blocked tag with each section inaccessible to the plurality of motorized transport units, associate an accessible tag with each section accessible by at least one of the plurality of motorized transport units, for each section having an accessible tag, allow an access restriction setting to be configured, and provide navigation instructions to the plurality of motorized transport units based on access restriction settings of each section of the shopping space stored.