Spoilage Detection System Using Credibility-Weighted User Inputs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for identifying and removing spoiled products in retail stores are inefficient, relying on manual monitoring by employees, which can lead to unsold or unsatisfactory products, especially in online orders, due to the quick nature of spoilage and the multitude of tasks employees must manage.
Innovation Solution
A system that utilizes multiple user inputs through an electronic game, where credibility weights are assigned to users based on their accuracy, and a spoilage score is calculated to determine if products are spoiled, triggering an investigation when the score exceeds a threshold, allowing for automated or human intervention to remove or price-adjust products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple user inputs are collected to determine product spoilage, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary computing system that collects, processes, and analyzes inputs from multiple users through a network. This intermediary handles the complexity of aggregating and evaluating multiple user inputs, while the actual spoilage detection remains distributed across individual users. The system calculates credibility weights and determines spoilage status centrally, resolving the contradiction by separating detection (distributed) from analysis (centralized).
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs multiple functions: collecting user inputs, calculating credibility weights, determining spoilage status, and generating notifications. By creating a universal platform that handles all these functions, the patent improves measurement precision through multiple inputs while managing complexity through a consolidated multi-functional system rather than separate specialized systems for each function.
2Ease of operation
If manual monitoring by employees is used, then ease of operation is improved, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service system where customers independently monitor and report product spoilage using their own devices. Instead of employees manually checking products, the system empowers customers to perform the monitoring function themselves through a mobile application. This eliminates the need for employees to dedicate time to product monitoring, thereby improving productivity while maintaining ease of operation through user-friendly interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual employee monitoring with an electronic/digital system. Customers use mobile devices to capture images and submit reports, which are then processed automatically by the computing system. This substitution eliminates the labor-intensive manual monitoring process, freeing employees for other productive tasks while maintaining simple operation through intuitive mobile interfaces.
3Reliability
If employees frequently monitor products, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables customers to independently and frequently report product conditions without requiring employee involvement. Customers can submit spoilage reports at any time they observe issues, ensuring high reliability in product quality assurance. This eliminates the time employees would spend on frequent monitoring, as the self-service model allows continuous monitoring by customers without deducting from employee working time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuous monitoring of product quality through customer submissions rather than periodic employee checks. Multiple customers can report conditions simultaneously and continuously as they shop, ensuring that spoilage is detected as soon as it occurs. This continuous action maintains high reliability while eliminating the time loss associated with employees periodically interrupting their other tasks to check products.
4Productivity
If automated removal of spoiled products is implemented, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system automatically notifies employees or adjusts pricing based on customer spoilage reports. When a product is reported as spoiled, the system provides feedback to relevant parties (employees for removal, pricing system for discounts) without requiring complex automated physical removal mechanisms. This feedback-driven approach improves productivity by enabling rapid response to spoilage while managing complexity through information flow rather than complex automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The computing system acts as an intermediary that processes spoilage reports and coordinates removal actions. Rather than implementing complex automated removal systems, the intermediary platform manages the information flow and coordination between customers, employees, and inventory systems. This intermediary approach improves productivity through efficient information processing while avoiding the complexity of fully automated physical removal mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A credibility weight for each of a plurality of users is stored and is associated with a reliability of the user in accurately indicating whether the products have become spoiled. Images of a plurality of products at a retail store are received and electronically arranged in an organized pattern. The organized pattern is rendered onto selected ones of a plurality of display devices. Electronic choices from selected ones of the plurality of the users are received. Each of the electronic choices indicates for a selected one of the plurality of products whether the selected user believes the selected product has spoiled or has become unusable. A spoilage score for each product of the products is determined. A control signal is transmitted to a receiver circuit at the retail store instructing a human or robot to perform an investigation when the spoilage score exceeds a predetermined threshold.