Innovation in Society: Smart Shopping Mall Trolley - Case Study Example

Running Head: Smart Shopping Mall Trolley [Name] [Professor Name] [Course] [Date] Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Smart Shopping Mall Trolley 3 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Idea – creativity 4 New Product Design 7 Conclusion 8 References 8 Appendices 9 Smart Shopping Mall Trolley Executive Summary Shopping in an augmented world has become increasingly interactive as retail stores have integrated technologies that support shoppers. This project presents Smart Shopping Mall Trolley that supports shoppers while making their purchases in the stores. The group conducted extensive literature search, focus group discussion and user study to conceive the design for the trolley. Through this, preferable features were explored that will be incorporated in the trolley. The report describes the details of the discussion, conceived features of the smart shopping mall trolley and the functionalities that will be integrated into the contraption. This report further elucidates and illustrates the process of the project. The project is expected to be implemented in most shopping malls and stores in Melbourne, Australia The aim of the project is to support shopping in the retail store through the acquisition of user information. While in operation, the smart trolley will direct and guide customers in locating and handling groceries in a much more enhanced way than traditional shopping trolleys. This project is expected to help supermarkets sustain their competitive advantage by offering customers better and greater customer satisfaction. The system will hence offer customers greater insights about products of interest thus enabling them to make informed decisions while shopping. Introduction The smart shopping mall trolley also uses a small computer (PDA) that is installed to a shopping trolley. The PDA offers a convenient display (often a touchscreen) as the interface that allows the user to interact with the system. It also interfaces with a barcode scanner. The PDA uses wireless network to connect to a central database that is updated in real-time allowing a shopper to access updated information (see Figure 2). The shopper can scan through the items on the shelves as the trolley follows her. The customer holds the barcode scanner by the barcode side of the wrapper of the product. The corresponding data about the product is automatically displayed on the interface (screen). The items are afterwards aggregated to a list that determines how much the shopper expects to spend for the shopping. PDA interfaces with the EFTPOS through the wireless network for billing before a bill is printed out (PaymentExpress, 2013). Idea – creativity The group was particularly concerned about the taxing and onerous nature shopping experiences and came to a consensus that there is a need to develop a product that ensures convenience of the shoppers in supermarkets. An inherent problem involves standing for long periods in the queues to pay the shopping items. The group saw the need to come up with a technology that minimises delay time. Additionally, shoppers have always relied on written shopping list for budgeting which has always turned out unreliable due to sudden change in pricing (Awati and Awati, 2012). The group saw the need to come up with a more rigid means for budgeting. After a two-hour brainstorming session (see Figure 1), the group conceived an idea that there is a need to enhance the shopping cart, in a way that allows the shopper to bill the items on real-time. The group reached a consensus that a smart trolley could offer a creative way to improve customer’s shopping experience. The group hopes to make a shopping mall trolley that capitalizes on the basic functions and features of using barcodes to can items into a database, after which shoppers can create tally the items put on the shopping cart that are then sent wirelessly to a checkout counter. Once the customer is through which shopping, he can pay much faster as the items are already recorded. Science or invention Figure 1 below shows the parts where auxiliary components (PDA, Bluetooth barcode scanner, laser-induced grip, weight sensor, EFTPOS) will be added to the trolley. Figure 1: Shopping cart trolley The new technologies expected to be used include Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) to replace the small computer on the carts. This is because PDAs are relatively smaller and therefore require less space ((Bhattacharyam et el, 2012). The PDA will be installed at the handle member (Point 6 and 3) as showed in Figure 1. The group also intends to use a wireless Bluetooth barcode scanner to allow a shopper to scan voluminous items without the need to lift them up (Socket Mobile, 2010). For convenience, its console will also be installed at Point 6 and 3. The Bluetooth technology will send the billing data to the checkout counter once the shopper is through with shopping. To prevent the risk of taking non-scanned items without paying, the group expects to come up with anti-theft measures. A laser-induced grip that is installed over the main shopping cart, which will count the number of items added to the cart and a weight-sensor that is positioned under the main basket (at point 20) to determine if the weight that has been scanned is the same as the weight in the trolley (Bhattacharyam et el, 2012). The EFTPOS will be installed at the handle bar (At Point 6 and 3) next to the PDA. The Bluetooth capability of the PDA connects to the barcode reader which submits the information on the products (barcode data) to the PDA allowing the customer to scan the items even while away from the trolley (Simon, 2001). The Wi-Fi internet capability of the PDA allows it to connect to the EFTPOS allowing the customer to pay using a credit card (PaymentExpress, 2013). The group selects to use WLAN for wireless network between the shopping trolleys and the main database (Shanmugapriyan, 2013). Each moment a product is scanned, it would respond by generating the required information to the customer, which would be displayed on the LCD screen of the PDA and transmitted wirelessly to the EFTPOS. To support high data traffic, the project considers using high bandwidth. The project is expected to take two months to implement. The main task will involve installation of the barcode scanner at the handle member, installation of the distance sensor at Point 3, installation of the PDA to the handle members, installation of the microcontroller to the base assembly, installation of motors to the rear wheels, creation of the database. The group agreed that all members will be involved equally in each task, although each member will be in charge of each task (see Figure 1). Consequently, when the customer needs to purchase a product, she will stop and the trolley will also stop. When the customer selects an item, she will have to hold the barcode side of the item in front of the barcode scanner, which will scan the item. The corresponding data will then be compared to the database of the items in the mall. Since each barcode is assigned a specific cost, it will display on the PDA the number of items the customer has collected, the cost of the items collected and the total cost of the items collected. If there is a need by the customer to remove any of the items in the trolley, then she can delete the item. The shopper will therefore have to press the “delete” button and hold the item at the front of the barcode scanner for the corresponding cost to be automatically deducted. To pay for the items, the customer can swipe the card at the EFTPOS. New Product Design In designing the smart shopping mall trolley, the group accounted for variations in the product performance across different usage situations or under varied conditions. This is because the specific usage of the technology can vary resulting to variations in its performance (Luo, Kannan, Besharatu and Azarm, 2005). The design of the trolley comprised of four elements, including software interface, hardware integration, database and wireless network. The objective of each element is to ensure the best performance of the project. The group researched on the most appropriate design that meets the requirement of the project. Two designs were conceived: one that used LCD screen and microprocessor and the other that uses a PDA. The group opted for the PDA design since PDAs are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enhanced giving a shopper more convenience. The Bluetooth technology allows for connection to the checkout counters while the Wi-Fi connects the PDA to the main database (Awati and Awati, 2012). Conclusion Technology is meant to create conveniences. Once a problem is experienced, there is a need to figure out an innovation to solve the problem. Once the problem is solved, it will promote convenience in the sphere of influence. The smart shopping mall trolley was conceived with this in mind. Shoppers have often faced billing, budgeting and queuing problems while shopping. The smart trolley reduces the hurdles in billing, queuing and budgeting. The shopper can scan through the items on the shelves through the computer that is attached to the trolley. The customer holds the barcode scanner by the barcode side of the wrapper of the product. The corresponding date about the product is automatically displayed on the interface (screen). The items are afterwards aggregated to a list that determined how much the shopper expects to spend for the shopping. At the checkout counter, the computer is quickly interfaced for confirmation before a bill is printed out. The trolley also eliminates the difficulties of offloading shopping items from the cart, as a result reducing the time spent at the checkout point. References Awati, J. & Awati, S. (2012). "Smart Trolley in Mega Mall." International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering. 2(1):474-477 Bhattacharyam S., Floreen, P., Forsblom, A., Hemminki, S. Myllimaiki, P, Pulkkinen, T, Saloovaara, A. (2012). An Intelligent Mobile Grocery Assistant. Helsinki: University of Helsinki PaymentExpress (2013). EFTPOS Installation Guide - Citrix & Terminal Services. Web. accessed 31 August 2013 Shanmugapriyan, T. (2013). "Smart Cart to Recognize Objects Based on User Intention." International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering, 2(5):pp2049-2052 Simon, H. (2001). "Bluetooth’s saga: The wireless technology named for a Viking may soon conquer the realm of connectivity." Computers in Chemistry, 10(9):pp. pp15-16 Socket Mobile (2010) Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner Series 7 and Series 7 Rx. Web. accessed 31 August 2013 Appendices Table 1: Gantt Chart showing timeline of the activities Completion Week Task Duration 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Install PDA 7 days Install weight sensors 7 days Install EFTPOS 14 days Bluetooth barcode scanner 7 days Install software to PDA 14 days Configure wireless network 7 days Laser-induced grip 7 days Test prototype 7 days Figure 2: Smart trolley system design Figure 3Brainstorm & mind map Figure 4: Smart shopping trolley design Figure 5: Effective product design Read More