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US 2019/0156394 A1Published application
Distributed Sensor Systems and Methods for Inventory Control
AssigneeWalmart Apollo, LLC
InventorSomedip Karmakar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method to identify which products are viewed by a user before 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 allows viewed and ultimately bought scores and item similarity scores to be determined. The scores are used by the system to identify suitable substitutes and complement items and understand the key attributes in making purchase decisions. The scoring identifies better item assortment decision and pricing, which in turn can increase the revenue of retail stores.
Claims22
A method in a distributed sensor system comprising:
- controlling an array of sensor modules distributed along a shelving unit in a facility according to a first operation mode by default in which recordation of sensor data acquired by a sensing element in each of the sensor modules is disabled and a wireless transmitter in each of the sensor modules is disabled;
- in response to detection of a first user within range of a first one of the sensor modules, transitioning the first one of the sensor modules in the array from the first operation mode to a second operation mode in which recordation of the sensing data acquired by the sensing element is enabled and the wireless transmitter is enabled;
- transmitting a first message from the first one of the sensor modules to a server in selective communication with the sensor modules, the server configured to receive the first message from the first one of the sensor modules and to transmit a threshold time to the first one of the sensor modules based on receipt of the first message;
- transmitting a second message from the first one of the sensor modules to one or more of the sensor modules in the array that are located adjacent to the first one of the sensor modules upon transitioning to the second mode of operation;
- in response to receipt of the second message, transitioning the one or more sensor modules in the array located adjacent to the first one to a third operation mode in which recordation of sensing data is enabled in the one or more sensor modules and the wireless transmitter is disabled;
- in response to continuous detection of the first user within range of the first one of the sensor modules for a period of time greater than the threshold time, transmitting the sensing data from the first one of the sensor modules to the server;
- and
- in response to continuous detection of the first user within range of the first one of the sensor modules for a period of time less than the threshold time, reverting the first one of the sensor modules back to the first operation mode.
5 more elements
A distributed sensor system comprising:
- an array of sensor modules distributed along a shelving unit in a facility, each of the sensor modules operate according to a first operation mode by default in which recordation of sensor data acquired by a sensing element in each of the sensor modules is disabled and a wireless transmitter in each of the sensor modules is disabled;
- a server in selective communication with the sensor modules, the server configured to receive sensing data from the sensor modules and transmit a threshold time to the sensor modules based on receipt of the sensing data;
- a first one of the sensor modules in the array is configured to transition from the first operation mode to a second operation mode in which recordation of the sensing data acquired by the sensing element is enabled and the wireless transmitter is enabled in response to detection of a first user within range of the first one of the sensor modules, the first one of the sensing modules transmits a first message to the server and transmits a second message to one or more of the sensing modules in the array that are located adjacent to the first one of the sensor modules upon transitioning to the second mode of operation;
- wherein the one or more sensor modules in the array that are located adjacent to the first one of the sensor modules transition from the first operation mode to a third operation mode in response to receipt of the second message in which recordation of sensing data is enabled in the one or more sensor modules and the wireless transmitter is disabled, and
- wherein the first one of the sensor modules transmits the sensing data to the server upon continuous detection of the first user within range of the first one of the sensor modules for a period of time that is greater than the threshold time or reverts back to the first operation mode upon detection of the user within range of the first one of the sensor modules for a period of time that is less than the threshold time.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.