Product monitoring device, product monitoring system, and product monitoring method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10410333-B2
Application number	US-201615565808-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 3, 2016
Priority date	Apr 28, 2015
Publication date	Sep 10, 2019
Grant date	Sep 10, 2019

Abstract

A product monitoring device is provided that presents, to the user, information by which the user can recognize specific work items of a product management work for improving an inappropriate display state. The product monitoring device acquires a captured image of a display area, sets a state monitoring area on the captured image of the display area, acquires product detection information indicating a position of a product in the state monitoring area, based on a captured image of the state monitoring area, evaluates a display state of the product in the state monitoring area, using a plurality of evaluation indices relating to display disorder of the product, based on the product detection information, and presents information on an evaluation result to a user.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A product monitoring device which monitors a display status of a product, comprising:
a memory that stores instructions; and
a processor that, when executing the instructions stored in the memory, performs operations comprising:
acquiring a captured image of a display area in a store;
setting a state monitoring area on the captured image of the display area;
acquiring product detection information indicating a position of a product in the state monitoring area, based on a captured image of the state monitoring area;
evaluating a display state of the product in the state monitoring area, using a plurality of evaluation indices relating to display disorder of the product, based on the product detection information; and
presenting, on a display screen, information on an evaluation result of the display state of the product,
wherein the presenting information on the evaluation result includes:
presenting a time chart that includes a first axis and a second axis, the first axis indicating a plurality of time periods in a chronological order, the second axis indicating respective evaluation results of the product display state of the product for the plurality of time periods of the first axis, and
presenting a product loading time that is shown in synchronization with a time period in the time chart of the first axis, the product loading time indicating a time when the product is loaded into store inventory, the product being loaded into an area different from the display area and not being included in the captured image.

2. The product monitoring device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the evaluation is performed by using at least two of a volume degree, indicating a degree to which a large number of products are collectively displayed, an alignment degree, indicating a degree to which products are aligned and displayed in a horizontal direction, and a face-up degree, indicating a degree to which products are displayed in line with a front most position of the state monitoring area, as the evaluation indices.

3. The product monitoring device according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the acquiring of the product detection information, the captured image of the state monitoring area is converted into a top view image, and the product detection information is acquired from the top view image.

4. The product monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor further performs operations comprising:
generating analysis information representing an attention period, based on the evaluation result, and
presenting, on the display screen, the analysis information to the user.

5. The product monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor further performs operations comprising:
performing a statistical process on the evaluation result,
generating analysis information representing a temporal transition status of the evaluation result, and
presenting, on the display screen, the analysis information to the user.

6. The product monitoring device according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the setting, a plurality of state monitoring areas are set in the display area based on an operation input by the user, and
wherein, in the evaluating, a display state of a product in each of the plurality of the state monitoring areas is evaluated.

7. The product monitoring device according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the acquiring of the captured image of the display area, a privacy mask image is acquired as the captured image of the display area, the privacy mask image being obtained by deleting an image of a person from an original image obtained by capturing an image of the display area.

8. A product monitoring system which monitors a display status of a product, comprising:
a camera that captures an image of the display area in a store; and
a plurality of information processing devices,
wherein one of the plurality of information processing device includes a processor that, when executing instructions stored in a memory, performs operations comprising:
acquiring the captured image of the display area;
setting a state monitoring area on the captured image of the display area;
acquiring product detection information indicating a position of a product in the state monitoring area, based on a captured image of the state monitoring area;
evaluating a display state of the product in the state monitoring area, using a plurality of evaluation indices relating to display disorder of the product, based on the product detection information; and
presenting, on a display screen, information on an evaluation result of the display state of the product,

wherein the presenting information on the evaluation result includes:
presenting a time chart that includes a first axis and a second axis, the first axis indicating a plurality of time periods in a chronological order, the second axis indicating respective evaluation results of the product display state of the product for the plurality of time periods of the first axis, and
presenting a product loading time that is shown in synchronization with a time period in the time chart of the first axis, the product loading time indicating a time when the product is loaded into store inventory, the product being loaded into an area different from the display area and not being included in the captured image.

9. A product monitoring method causing an information processing device to implement a process of monitoring a display status of a product, the method comprising:
acquiring a captured image of a display area in a store;
setting a state monitoring area on the captured image of the display area;
acquiring product detection information indicating a position of a product in the state monitoring area, based on a captured image of the state monitoring area;
evaluating a display state of the product in the state monitoring area, using a plurality of evaluation indices relating to display disorder of the product, based on the product detection information; and
presenting, on a display screen, information on an evaluation result of the display state of the product,
wherein the presenting information on the evaluation result includes:
presenting a time chart that includes a first axis and a second axis, the first axis indicating a plurality of time periods in a chronological order, the second axis indicating respective evaluation results of the product display state of the product for the plurality of time periods of the first axis, and
presenting a product loading time that is shown in synchronization with a time period of the first axis in the time chart, the product loading time indicating a time when the product is loaded into store inventory, the product being loaded into an area different from the display area and not being included in the captured image.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Takenaka Shinji
• Tokuda Kenji
• Takemoto Yuichiro

Classifications

• G06T7/0004 Primary

  Industrial image inspection · CPC title

• G06Q10/087 Primary

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

• G06V10/28

  Quantising the image, e.g. histogram thresholding for discrimination between background and foreground patterns · CPC title

• G06T2207/20068

  Projection on vertical or horizontal image axis · CPC title

• G06T2207/30196

  Human being; Person · CPC title