In stock analytic monitoring
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring the stock level of an item at a location of a retail facility, comprising:
- receiving video of a product location in a retail facility, the video being captured by a video monitoring device with a field of view that includes the product location;
providing a threshold stock value that corresponds to a minimum acceptable stock level of an item located in the product location;
detecting an item removal event by analyzing, with a computing device, the video of the product location, the item removal event being detected when an item has been removed from the product location;
in response to detection of an item removal event, adjusting, with a computing device, an in stock value corresponding to the stock level of the item located in the product location;
comparing the in stock value to the threshold stock value;
generating a low-stock alarm notification, with a computing device, if the in stock value is less than the threshold stock value, the low-stock alarm notification including an image of the product location at substantially the same time as the low-stock alarm notification is generated;
identifying one or more user devices to receive the low-stock alarm notification, the user devices located remotely from the computing device, wherein identifying one or more user devices includes determining the user devices that are located in closest proximity to the product location; and
distributing the low-stock alarm notification to the identified one or more user devices.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In selected embodiments video footage is automatically analyzed to determine whether product stock levels at particular product locations are low. Video analytics may be employed to track product removal from shelves and determine approximate quantities of product remaining on each shelf based on product size and dedicated shelf area. In selected implementations an alarm notification is generated to alert store personnel that restocking is appropriate. Such an alarm notification optionally includes a still image of the area corresponding to the alarm together with data related to the product and projected quantities needed to restock the shelf. In some embodiments the system automatically identifies the store personnel who are currently located in areas near where the alarm event occurred and the notification is wirelessly distributed to their mobile devices.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A method for monitoring the stock level of an item at a location of a retail facility, comprising:
-
receiving video of a product location in a retail facility, the video being captured by a video monitoring device with a field of view that includes the product location; providing a threshold stock value that corresponds to a minimum acceptable stock level of an item located in the product location; detecting an item removal event by analyzing, with a computing device, the video of the product location, the item removal event being detected when an item has been removed from the product location; in response to detection of an item removal event, adjusting, with a computing device, an in stock value corresponding to the stock level of the item located in the product location; comparing the in stock value to the threshold stock value; generating a low-stock alarm notification, with a computing device, if the in stock value is less than the threshold stock value, the low-stock alarm notification including an image of the product location at substantially the same time as the low-stock alarm notification is generated; identifying one or more user devices to receive the low-stock alarm notification, the user devices located remotely from the computing device, wherein identifying one or more user devices includes determining the user devices that are located in closest proximity to the product location; and distributing the low-stock alarm notification to the identified one or more user devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable storage device, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform operations to monitor a stock level of an item at a location of a marketplace, the operations comprising:
-
receiving video data of an item area in a marketplace, the video data being captured by a video data monitoring device that is directed towards the item area; providing a minimum stock level that corresponds to a minimum acceptable stock level of an item located in the item area; detecting an item removal event by analyzing the video data of the item area, the item removal event being detected when an item has been removed from the item area; in response to detection of an item removal event, adjusting an actual stock level corresponding to the stock level of the item located in the item area; comparing the actual stock level to the minimum stock level; generating a minimum stock level alarm notification if the actual stock level is less than the minimum stock level, the minimum stock level alarm notification including an image of the item area at substantially the same time as the minimum stock level alarm notification is generated; identifying one or more handheld reporting devices to receive the minimum stock level alarm notification; determining a first proximity of the one or more handheld reporting devices to the product location; and distributing the minimum stock level alarm notification to the identified one or more handheld reporting devices. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A system for monitoring merchandise availability, the system including:
-
a merchandise area; merchandise in the merchandise area, the merchandise being displayed at a plurality of stocking locations within the merchandise area; a video system that includes one or more video cameras, wherein the video system is configured to record video footage of the merchandise area; a plurality of handheld devices; and a notification server communicatively coupled to the video system and the handheld devices to receive the video footage from the video system, to create a low merchandise notification in response to a determination that the video footage reflects that merchandise has been removed from the merchandise area and that as a consequence a stock level has fallen below a predetermined threshold, and to send the low merchandise notification to one or more of the handheld devices the notification server being further configured to determine a first proximity of the one or more hand held devices to the product location. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
-
Specification