Computer Vision Object Tracking Guidance Module
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) solutions are inefficient and costly, requiring additional staff or significant operational changes, and existing self-pickup methods like package lockers and towers are expensive, restrictive, and inefficient, leading to poor customer experiences.
Innovation Solution
A computer-vision-based object tracking and guidance module that secures to a structure, using a camera assembly with an image sensor and depth sensor, along with a lighting assembly and control-board assembly to track and guide users to objects using light and audio cues, enabling secure and efficient self-service pickup without the need for staffed counters or fixed package lockers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If staffed pickup counters are used, then customer service quality improves, but operational costs and staff requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables customers to independently complete pickup operations through automated computer vision tracking and guidance. The module detects object placement, provides real-time visual guidance via light sources, and confirms pickup completion without requiring staff intervention, thereby maintaining service quality while eliminating staff dependency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual staff operations with an automated optical-mechanical system consisting of computer vision cameras, processing units, and controllable light sources. This system automatically tracks objects, detects customer actions, and provides guidance, substituting human labor with automated technological systems
2Reliability
If package lockers and towers are deployed, then pickup security improves, but space requirements and infrastructure costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the core security function from physical infrastructure (lockers and towers) and implements it through a lightweight computer vision module. By removing the need for bulky physical containment structures and relying instead on automated detection and guidance, the system maintains security while minimizing space occupation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses optical copying through computer vision cameras to create a digital representation of the pickup area and objects. This virtual model enables tracking and security verification without requiring physical lockers, replacing material infrastructure with information-based solutions
3Stability of the object's composition
If traditional BOPIS operations are maintained, then existing operational workflows are preserved, but efficiency and cost-effectiveness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces dynamic adaptability to the pickup process through real-time computer vision tracking and responsive light guidance. The module dynamically adjusts guidance based on detected object positions and customer actions, transforming static traditional workflows into adaptive automated processes that improve efficiency while maintaining operational stability
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprises a mount body by which the apparatus is secured to a structure. A camera assembly includes an image sensor adapted to capture images within its field of view. A lighting assembly houses one or more light sources including a directional light source. A control-board assembly, fixed to the mount body, houses control boards including one or more processors configured to acquire information about an object, to associate a location within the field of view of the image sensor with the object, to point light emitted by the directional light source at the location associated with the object by rotating the lighting assembly and turning the laser assembly, and, based on an image acquired from the camera assembly, to detect change within the field of view of the image sensor corresponding to placement or removal of the object.