Universal Mobile App for Retail Product Data via QR Codes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Retail merchants face inconvenience in providing customers with information and offers while in-store, as existing solutions require multiple custom applications for different coding conventions, making it cumbersome for customers to manage and access product details, reviews, and promotions.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing machine-readable indicia, a network-connected server, and a database to process coded information from mobile devices, providing additional data based on location and product information, allowing users to scan barcodes or QR codes to access relevant product details, promotions, and offers directly on their mobile devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple custom merchant applications are used to read different coding conventions, then product information can be accessed for different merchants, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to the need to download and manage multiple applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal application that can read multiple coding conventions (barcodes, QR codes, data matrices) and access product information from multiple merchants through a single interface. The system uses a standardized protocol to communicate with different merchants' systems, eliminating the need for separate custom applications for each merchant while maintaining the ability to access diverse product information.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple custom merchant applications are used, then product information can be accessed for different merchants, but ease of operation worsens due to the cumbersome process of downloading and managing multiple applications
Solution Approach 1:
The universal application provides a unified interface for accessing product information from multiple merchants, allowing users to scan various codes and retrieve information without needing to switch between different applications. The system automatically adapts to different merchants' coding conventions through a single application interface.
3Ease of operation
If a single universal application is used to access multiple merchants, then ease of operation improves, but adaptability may worsen if the system cannot handle different coding conventions
Solution Approach 1:
The application is designed with built-in support for multiple coding conventions including barcodes, QR codes, and data matrices. It automatically detects and adapts to different code types and merchant-specific formats, maintaining full adaptability while providing a unified user interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs an intermediary layer that translates various merchant-specific coding conventions into a standardized format that the universal application can process. This mediator component enables the application to handle diverse code types without requiring separate custom applications for each merchant.
4Measurement precision
If contextual information is added to scanned codes, then product information accuracy improves, but system complexity increases due to location and merchant data processing
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as an intermediary that receives scanned code data along with location and device context information, processes this combined data, and returns accurate product information. This centralizes the complex processing logic on the server side while keeping the mobile application relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from location data, device identifiers, and scanned code information to refine and filter product information results. By incorporating multiple data sources and using feedback mechanisms, the system achieves high information accuracy without requiring complex processing on the mobile device itself.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for using machine-readable indicia to provide additional information and offers to potential customers, the system comprising a network-connected server adapted to receive coded information from mobile devices, a database coupled to the server and containing data pertaining to products, a software application executing on the server for processing the coded information, and a plurality of labels containing machine-readable indicia and posted near products for sale, is disclosed. According to the invention, on receiving coded information from a mobile device, the server provides the data to the software application, and the software application determines from the coded information a location from which the information was obtained and a product to which the information pertains, and, based at least in part on the location and product information obtained, the application obtains additional data from the database and sends it to the mobile device from which the coded information was received.