Distributed sensor system and method for inventory management and predictive replenishment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12051040-B2
Application number	US-202217845164-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 21, 2022
Priority date	Nov 18, 2017
Publication date	Jul 30, 2024
Grant date	Jul 30, 2024

Abstract

An system and a method for scoring products viewed by a user prior to making a purchase decision and also identify the products considered most before ultimately purchasing. The system uses sensors placed on the shelves to identify the item viewed before making a purchase decision and also track the time spent per decision. The tracking will allow viewed and ultimately bought scores and item similarity scores to be determined. The scores in conjunction with point-of-sale terminal data to identify times determinative of users' interest levels prior to a purchase. The system predicatively replenishes inventory of high interest items based on historical patterns of interest and historical point-of-sale terminal data.

First claim

I claim:

1. A distributed sensor inventory management system comprising:
an array of sensor modules distributed along a shelving unit in a facility, each of the sensor modules in the array being associated with items on the shelving unit, wherein each of the sensor modules in the array comprises an image detector that is configured to detect an amount of time spent by one or more users in front of an item on the shelving unit;
a first server in selective communication with the sensor modules, the first server configured to:
receive optical sensing data from one or more of the sensor modules in the array in response to detection of one or more users by the one or more of the sensor modules;
detect, from the optical sensing data, a continued presence of the one or more users within range of the one or more of the sensor modules for a first period of time;
identify, from the optical sensing data, that at least one of the one or more users is located in front of a first item for an amount of time and removes the first item from the shelving unit; and
a second server in selective communication with the first server, the second server being configured to:
receive a message from the first server in response to the removal of the first item;
determine a probability that the first item is viewed and ultimately removed from the facility without monitoring transactions at a plurality of point-of-sale terminals by comparing the amount of time that the at least one of the one or more users is located in front of a first item to a threshold time value determined based on a logistic curve;
update an inventory record in a database in response to comparing the probability to a probability threshold and determining the probability is greater than the probability threshold, the inventory record corresponding to the first item;
determine, responsive to the updating of the inventory record, whether the inventory record satisfies an inventory threshold; and
generate a replenishment signal, responsive to the determining, to notify a third party system to provide a quantity of the first item to the facility.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the third party system is associated with a peer retailer, a distribution center, or a vendor.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the each of the sensor modules includes a near-field communications transmitter for intercommunication between neighboring ones of the sensor modules in the array.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein a spacing between the sensor modules on the shelving unit is determined by an average dimension of items in a category corresponding to the items.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the inventory threshold is based at least in part on a capacity for transport and a transport time.

6. An inventory management method in a distributed sensor system comprising:
receiving, at a first server, optical sensing data from one or more sensor modules in an array distributed along a shelving unit in a facility in response to detection of one or more users by the one or more of the sensor modules, wherein each of the sensor modules in the array is associated with items on the shelving unit and each of the sensor modules in the array comprises an image detector that is configured to detect an amount of time spent by one or more users in front of an item on the shelving unit;
detecting, from the optical sensing data, a continued presence of the one or more users within range of one or more of the sensor modules, for a first period of time;
identifying, from the optical sensing data, that at least one of the one or more users is located in front of a first item for an amount of time and removes the first item from the shelving unit;
determining a probability that the first item is viewed and ultimately removed from the facility without monitoring transactions at a plurality of point-of-sale terminals by comparing the amount of time that the at least one of the one or more users is located in front of a first item to a threshold time value determined based on a logistic curve;
updating, an inventory record in a database via a second server in response to comparing the probability to a probability threshold and determining the probability is greater than the probability threshold, the inventory record corresponding to the first item;
determining, via the second server, whether the inventory record satisfies an inventory threshold in response to the inventory record being updated; and
generating, via the second server, a replenishment signal to notify a third party system to provide a quantity of the first item to the facility in response to determining that the inventory record satisfies the inventory threshold.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the third party system is associated with a peer retailer, a distribution center, or a vendor.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein each of the sensor modules includes a near-field communications transmitter for intercommunication between neighboring ones of the sensors modules in the array.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein a spacing between the sensor modules on the shelving unit is determined by an average dimension of items in a category corresponding to the items.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the inventory threshold is based at least in part on a capacity for transport and a transport time.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium, having stored thereon, instructions that when executed in a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:
receive optical sensing data from one or more sensor modules in an array distributed along a shelving unit in a facility in response to detection of one or more users by the one or more of the sensor modules, wherein each of the sensor modules in the array is associated with items on the shelving unit and each of the sensor modules in the array comprises an image detector that is configured to detect an amount of time spent by one or more users in front of an item on the shelving unit;
detect, from the optical sensing data, a continued presence of the one or more users within range of the one or more of the sensor modules, for a first period of time;
identify, from the optical sensing data, that at least one of the one or more users is located in front of a first item for an amount of time and removes the first item from the shelving unit;
determine a probability that the first item is viewed and ultimately removed from the facility without monitoring transactions at a plurality of point-of-sale terminals by comparing the amount of time that the at least one of the one or more users is located in front of a first item to a threshold time value determined based on a logistic curve;
update an inventory record in a database in response to comparing the probability to a probability threshold and determining the probability is greater than the probability threshold, the inventory record corresponding to the first item;
determine, responsive to the updating of the inventory record, whether the inventory record satisfies an inventory threshold; and
generate a replenishment signal, responsive to the determining, to notify a third party system to provide a quantity of the first item to the facility.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the third party system is associated with a peer retailer, a distribution center, or a vendor.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein each of the sensor modules includes a near-field communications transmitter for intercommunication between neighboring ones of the sensor modules in the array.

14. The computer readable medi

Assignees

• Walmart Apollo Llc

Inventors

• Karmakar Somedip

Classifications

• G06Q30/0202

  Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities · CPC title

• G06Q30/0201

  Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data · CPC title

• G06Q10/087 Primary

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