ITEM MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20160260055A1
• Filed: 03/04/2016
• Published: 09/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: High, Donald R., McHale, Brian G.
• Granted Patent: US 10,346,794 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5854 using shape and object relationship
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/653 by matching three-dimensional models, e.g. conformal mapping of Riemann surfaces

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided to monitor items on a storage unit. Some embodiments provide a system for monitoring items held on a storage unit, comprising: a scanner device configured to capture a 3D model of the storage unit; a memory configured to store a baseline 3D model of the storage unit in a predetermined stocked state and a plurality of 3D item models, each 3D item model corresponding to an item intended to be held on the storage unit; a difference extraction unit configured to compare the captured 3D model to the baseline 3D model and generate 3D difference data corresponding to a difference between the captured and baseline 3D models, and a product identification unit configured to identify items present in the 3D difference data based on the stored plurality of 3D item models.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring items held on a storage unit, comprising:

a scanner device configured to capture a 3D model of the storage unit;

a memory configured to store a baseline 3D model of the storage unit in a predetermined stocked state and a plurality of 3D item models, each 3D item model corresponding to an item intended to be held on the storage unit;

a difference extraction unit configured to compare the captured 3D model to the baseline 3D model and generate 3D difference data corresponding to a difference between the captured and baseline 3D models, and

a product identification unit configured to identify items present in the 3D difference data based on the stored plurality of 3D item models.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the product identification unit is further configured to determine a stock level based on the identified items.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the product identification unit is configured to identify items by determining whether a plurality of dimensions of the 3D difference data are within a tolerance of a plurality of dimensions of each 3D item model.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein:

the memory is further configured to store a location database comprising an intended location on the storage unit of each of the plurality of 3D item models, and

the product identification unit is configured identify items by comparing the intended location and actual location.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the product identification unit is configured to identify an incorrectly placed item based on the comparison of intended and actual locations.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the system further comprises an alert generation unit configured to generate an alert if the determined stock level is less than a predetermined stock level, and transmit the alert to a user device coupled to the system by a communication network.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the scanner device is configured to periodically capture the 3D model at a predetermined time interval, and the memory is configured to store the determined stock level associated with each captured 3D model.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the scanner device comprises a portable laser scanner adapted to be operated by a user.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the system further comprises a baseline generation unit configured to generate the baseline 3D model by combining a plurality of smaller models.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the baseline 3D model of the storage unit is a part of a larger 3D model of a retail store.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the product identification unit is configured to identify items by determining whether a plurality of dimensions of the 3D difference data are within a tolerance of a plurality of dimensions of each 3D item model.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the memory is further configured to store a location database comprising an intended location on the storage unit of each of the plurality of 3D item models, and

the product identification unit is configured identify items by comparing the intended location and actual location.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a baseline generation unit configured to generate the baseline 3D model by combining a plurality of smaller models.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the baseline 3D model of the storage unit is a part of a larger 3D model of a retail store.

14. The system of claim 14, wherein the baseline 3D model of the storage unit is a part of a larger 3D model of a retail store.

16. A method of monitoring items held on a storage unit, the method comprising:

capturing a 3D model of the storage unit;

comparing the captured 3D model to a baseline 3D model;

generating 3D difference data corresponding to a difference between the captured and baseline 3D models, and

identifying items present in the 3D difference data based on a stored plurality of 3D item models, each 3D item model corresponding to an item intended to be held on the storage unit.