CONTROLLING SHOPPER CHECKOUT THROUGHPUT

• US 20090236419A1
• Filed: 03/20/2008
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Haas, Norman, Flickner, Myron D., Hampapur, Arun, Pankanti, Sharathchandra U., Otto, Charles A., Connell II, Jonathan H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,061,603 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/383
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0054 with control of supplementary check-parameters, e.g. weight or number of articles

Abstract

The present invention provides a solution for controlling checkout throughput. Specifically, under the present invention a set of attributes of an item will be obtained. An analysis of the set of attributes will then be performed to determine whether an inconsistency exists based on a tolerance threshold. Such analysis can include, for example, comparing the weight of the item to its expected weight. This can help determine if a mistake has been made or fraud has been committed. Whether an inconsistency is observed is based on a tolerance threshold. For example, a certain deviation (i.e., the tolerance threshold) from an expected value could be allowed to could be allowed to reduce errors during the checkout process and thereby increase checkout throughput. As such, the present invention allows the tolerance threshold to be tuned based on a desired checkout throughput.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a checkout throughput, comprising:

capturing an image of an item with an image capture device;

scanning a barcode of the item with a scanning device;

wherein the image capture device and the scanning device are a single integrated unit;

processing the image to capture an appearance of the item;

wherein the processing includes extracting at least one visual feature;

determining an identity of the item, based on the at least one visual feature;

searching a database of images corresponding to items to obtain a set of expected attributes of the item;

obtaining a set of actual attributes for the item;

analyzing the set of actual attributes and the set of expected attributes to determine whether an inconsistency exists;

wherein an inconsistency exists when the set of actual attributes differs from the expected set of attributes by more than the tolerance threshold based on a tolerance threshold; and

tuning the tolerance threshold based on a desired checkout throughput.

2. The method of claim 1, the expected and actual sets of attributes being selected from a group consisting of an identity of the item, an appearance of the item, a physical dimension of the item, a price of the item, and a weight of the item.

4. The method of claim 1, the tuning comprising allowing a greater inconsistency between the actual and the expected sets of attributes to increase shopper throughput.

5. The method of claim 1, the tuning comprising allowing a reduced inconsistency between the actual and the expected sets of attributes to decrease shopper throughput.

6. The method of claim 1, the method being performed at a checkout station.

7. The method of claim 1, the desired checkout throughput being based on at least one of the following:

a waiting time of shoppers, a shopping patent of the shoppers, or a type of business selling the item.

3. (canceled)

8. A system for tuning a tolerance threshold for shopping checkout, comprising:

an image capture module for capturing an image of an item;

a scanning module for scanning a barcode of the item with a scanning device;

wherein the image capture module and the scanning module are a single integrated unit;

a module for processing the image to capture an appearance of the item;

wherein the processing includes extracting at least one visual feature;

a module for determining an identity of the item, based on the at least one visual feature;

a module for searching a database of images corresponding to items to obtain a set of expected attributes of the item;

a module for obtaining a set of actual attributes for the item;

a module for analyzing the set of actual attributes and the set of expected attributes to determine whether an inconsistency exists;

wherein an inconsistency exists when the set of actual attributes differs from the expected set of attributes by more than the tolerance threshold based on a tolerance threshold; and

a module for tuning the tolerance threshold based on a desired checkout throughput.

9. The system of claim 8, the expected and actual sets of attributes being selected from a group consisting of an identity of the item, an appearance of the item, a physical dimension of the item, a price of the item, and a weight of the item.

11. The system of claim 8, the module for tuning allowing a greater inconsistency between the actual and expected sets of attributes to increase shopper throughput.

12. The system of claim 8, the module for tuning allowing a reduced inconsistency between the actual and expected sets of attributes to decreased shopper throughput.

13. The system of claim 8, the system being implemented at a shopping checkout station.

14. The system of claim 8, the desired shopper throughput being based on at least one of the following:

a waiting time of shoppers, a shopping patent of the shoppers, or a type of business selling the item.

10. (canceled)

15. A program product stored on a computer readable medium for tuning a tolerance threshold for shopping checkout, the computer readable medium comprising program code for causing a computer system to:

capture an image of an item with an image capture device;

scan a barcode of the item with a scanning device;

wherein the image capture device and the scanning device are a single integrated unit;

process the image to capture an appearance of the item;

wherein the process includes extracting at least one visual feature;

determine an identity of the item, based on the at least one visual feature;

search a database of images corresponding to items to obtain a set of expected attributes of the item;

obtain a set of actual attributes for the item;

analyze the set of actual attributes and the set of expected attributes to determine whether an inconsistency exists;

wherein an inconsistency exists when the set of actual attributes differs from the expected set of attributes by more than the tolerance threshold based on a tolerance threshold; and

tune the tolerance threshold based on a desired checkout throughput.

16. The program product of claim 15, the expected and actual sets of attributes being selected from a group consisting of an identity of the item, an appearance of the item, a physical dimension of the item, a price of the item, and a weight of the item.

18. The program product of claim 15, the tuning comprising allowing a greater inconsistency between the expected and actual sets of attributes to increase shopper throughput.

19. The program product of claim 15, the tuning comprising allowing a reduced inconsistency between the expected and actual sets of attributes to decreased shopper throughput.

20. The program product of claim 15, the program product being performed at a checkout station.

21. The program product of claim 15, the desired shopper throughput being based on at least one of the following:

a waiting time of shoppers, a shopping patent of the shoppers, or a type of business selling the item.

17. (canceled)

22. A method for deploying a system for tuning a tolerance threshold for shopping checkout, comprising:

providing a computer infrastructure being operable to;

capture an image of an item with an image capture device;

scan a barcode of the item with a scanning device;

wherein the image capture device and the scanning device are a single integrated unit;

process the image to capture an appearance of the item;

wherein the process includes extracting at least one visual feature;

determine an identity of the item, based on the at least one visual feature;

search a database of images corresponding to items to obtain a set of expected attributes of the item;

obtain a set of actual attributes for the item;

analyze the set of actual attributes and the set of expected attributes to determine whether an inconsistency exists;

wherein an inconsistency exists when the set of actual attributes differs from the expected set of attributes by more than the tolerance threshold based on a tolerance threshold; and

tune the tolerance threshold based on a desired checkout throughput.