Virtual Store Shelf Emulation via Live Camera Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional shopping experiences in physical stores are inefficient, with customers often spending significant time waiting in line to pay and cashiers being idle outside of peak hours, leading to customer frustration and increased operational costs.
Innovation Solution
A virtual store system that emulates a physical store by generating a virtual shopping cart and using camera feeds to track customer selections, allowing for automated checkout and verification through an algorithm trained by sensor inputs, reducing the need for human cashiers and streamlining the shopping process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional cashiers are used to serve customers, then customer service is provided, but customers spend significant time waiting in line and cashiers are idle outside peak hours
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables customers to shop and checkout automatically without human cashier intervention. Cameras track customer movements and item selections, automatically generate receipts, and charge customers based on detected purchases, allowing the system to serve itself and eliminating waiting lines
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of human cashiers with an automated computer vision system using cameras, processors, and algorithms to detect customer selections, track shopping carts, and process payments, thereby eliminating idle time and waiting periods
2Productivity
If human cashiers are deployed in stores, then customer transactions are processed, but operational costs increase due to idle time outside peak hours
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system processes transactions without requiring human cashier presence, allowing the store to maintain continuous transaction processing capability without incurring labor costs during off-peak hours
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter from fixed human staffing schedules to on-demand automated processing, adjusting resource allocation dynamically based on actual customer presence and transaction needs
3Measurement precision
If multiple cameras are used to track customer selections, then automated checkout accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The camera system is divided into multiple specialized cameras positioned at different locations, each capturing specific zones of the store. This segmentation allows precise tracking of customer movements and item selections without requiring a single complex omnidirectional system
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses intermediate processing components including processors that receive camera feeds, algorithms that analyze the feeds to detect customer selections, and virtual store representations that map physical camera views to virtual shopping experiences, simplifying the overall complexity
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a display, interface, and processor. The interface receives a live camera feed from a camera directed at a first physical structure located in a physical space. The processor receives an indication of an event associated with the first physical structure and accordingly displays a first virtual structure corresponding to the first physical structure. The first virtual structure includes virtual items that emulate physical items located on the first physical structure. The processor additionally displays a recording of the live camera feed, which depicts the event associated with the first physical structure.