Smart shelves for retail industry

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10318919-B2
Application number	US-201615040252-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 10, 2016
Priority date	Feb 10, 2016
Publication date	Jun 11, 2019
Grant date	Jun 11, 2019

Abstract

A system and method are provided. The system includes a set of smart shelves. Each of the smart shelves has a mesh arrangement of sensors that include strain sensors, photodetectors, microphones, and spillage sensors placed on a bottom thereof to form a sensor mesh layer for generating a signal representative of a product count for a given product to be sold from a corresponding one of the smart shelves. The system further includes a data processing system for transforming the signal from each of the smart shelves into a product count value therefor. The system also includes a set of video displays for displaying characteristics of the given product to be sold from each of the smart shelves. The system additionally includes a set of wireless radios for transmitting the characteristics of the given product to be sold from each of the smart shelves to the set of video displays.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a set of smart shelves, each having a mesh arrangement of sensors that include strain sensors, photodetectors, microphones, and spillage sensors placed on a bottom thereof to form a sensor mesh layer for generating a signal representative of a product count for a given product to be sold from a corresponding one of the smart shelves;
a data processing system for transforming the signal from each of the smart shelves into a product count value therefor;
a set of video displays for displaying characteristics of the given product to be sold from each of the smart shelves; and
a set of wireless radios for transmitting the characteristics of the given product to be sold from each of the smart shelves to the set of video displays,
wherein the arrangement of sensors comprises a patterned foil laminated to bottom of a corresponding one of the smart shelves to form a patterned sensor thereon.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the signal is generated responsive to at least one of a vertical displacement and a lateral displacement of a corresponding one of the smart shelves.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the patterned foil is formed to include circuits from one or more materials reactive to different phenomena occurring on the corresponding one of the smart shelves.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the patterned sensor comprises multiple discrete elements to give a desired spatial resolution to the shelf sensor.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of, the sensors and the set of wireless radios, are powered using at least one of a vibration-based energy scavenging method and a light-based energy scavenging method.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data processing system is coupled to store payment registers to detect theft or misplacement of the given product.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data processing system monitors the product count for each of the smart shelves and issues a warning to a store employee when the product count falls below a given threshold amount.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein a recommendation of a similar product to the given product is provided on one of the video displays when the given product is unavailable on a corresponding one of the smart shelves.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein an in-store location of the similar product is provided by the one of the video displays when the given product is unavailable on the corresponding one of the smart shelves.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data processing system maintains a list of alternatives to the given product, in an order of most similar to least similar, and provides the alternates to the video display for displaying thereon such that if a first alternative is unavailable, a next alternative that is available is displayed on a corresponding one of the video displays.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data processing system indicates a total number of available units in the store of the given product responsive to a device provided query for a potential consumer.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data processing system determines an optimized route through the store to maximize a likelihood of a consumer finding the given product during a store visit, and provides the optimized route to at least one of a device under the control of the consumer and one of the video displays.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein a shape of individual sections of the mesh arrangement is adapted to a shape of the given product to assist in identifying the given product from another product unintended to be made available for sale on a same one of the smart shelves as the given product.

14. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a set of at least one of photodetectors and cameras for capturing color and image data of the given shelf from which the data processing unit determines at least one of a volume of the given product, a shape of the given product, a color of the given product, and an expiration date of the given product.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data processing unit receives an expiration date of the given product and provides a user-perceptible indication of product expiration when the expiration date is reached or passed.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the user-perceptible indication of product expiration is provided at least one of, on one of the video displays and to a store employee.

17. A method, comprising:
generating a signal representative of a product count for a given product to be sold from a corresponding one of a set of smart shelves, each of the smart shelves in the set having a mesh arrangement of sensors placed on a bottom thereof to form a sensor mesh layer, the mesh arrangement of sensors including strain sensors, photodetectors, microphones, and spillage sensors;
transforming, by a data processing system, the signal from each of the smart shelves into a product count value therefor; and
displaying, by a set of video displays, characteristics of the given product to be sold from each of the smart shelves,
wherein the characteristics of the given product to be sold from each of the smart shelves is transmitted to the set of video displays, by a set of wireless radios,
wherein the arrangement of sensors comprises a patterned foil laminated to bottom of a corresponding one of the smart shelves to form a patterned sensor thereon.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the patterned foil is formed to include circuits from one or more materials reactive to different phenomena occurring on the corresponding one of the smart shelves.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the patterned sensor comprises multiple discrete elements to give a desired spatial resolution to the shelf sensor.

20. A non-transitory article of manufacture tangibly embodying a computer readable program which when executed causes a computer to perform the steps of claim 17 .

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Bermudez Rodriguez Sergio A
• Hamann Hendrik F
• Klein Levente
• Van Kessel Theodore G

Classifications

• G06Q10/087 Primary

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• G06Q10/06315 Primary

  Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis · CPC title

• G06Q10/08743

  using optimisation of routes · CPC title

• G06Q10/08724

  by shelf level inventory management, e.g. planograms · CPC title

• G06Q10/08778

  for managing mis-shipments, lost items or stolen goods · CPC title