Leveraging RFID generated consumer behavior through a web map service

• US 8,738,423 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2013
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HCL Technologies Limited
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lyle, Ruthie D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rines, David
• Application Number:
  US13/740,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20130332238A1
• Time in Patent Office: 499 Days
• Field of Search: 705 711- 742
• US Class Current: 705/7.34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/30 Administration of product recycling or disposal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 90/00 Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation

Abstract

An approach is provided to analyze consumer behavior data. In the approach, location data corresponding to the consumers is identified. Discarded tagged packages are received from the consumers. The discarded tagged packages include wireless tags that associate the discarded tagged packages product identifiers. At a refuse collection point, each of the wireless tags are read (e.g., using an RFID reader). The reading retrieves the product identifiers associated from the tags on the discarded packages. The product identifiers and the location data are stored in a data store. Consumer consumption maps are generated from the stored product identifiers and location data.

Claims

1. A method of analyzing consumer data, the method comprising:

identifying location data corresponding to a plurality of consumers, each of the consumers located at one of a plurality of geographic locations;

receiving a plurality of discarded tagged packages from each of the plurality of consumers, wherein each of the discarded tagged packages includes a wireless tag that associates each of the discarded tagged packages with a product identifier;

reading, at a refuse collection point, each of the wireless tags, wherein the reading retrieves the product identifiers associated with each of the discarded tagged packages;

storing the retrieved product identifiers and the location data in a data store; and

generating, by one more processors, one or more area consumer consumption maps from the stored product identifiers and the stored location data, wherein the generating further comprises;

receiving a geographic area request; and

selecting, from the data store, the stored product identifiers with geographic location data corresponding to the requested geographic area, wherein one of the area consumer consumption maps corresponds to the selected stored product identifiers.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the location data is aggregated location data that inhibits identification of individual consumers and wherein the wireless tags are Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) tags.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the identification of location data corresponding to the plurality of consumers further comprises:

acquiring consumer data corresponding to each of the plurality of consumers during a refuse pick-up operation performed by a mobile refuse collection vehicle;

retrieving the geographic location corresponding to the acquired consumer data; and

anonymizing the acquired consumer data.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein reception of the product identifiers is performed by one or more RFID tag readers installed in the mobile refuse collection vehicle, wherein the identification of the location data is performed by a GPS receiver, and wherein the method further comprises:

wirelessly transmitting the retrieved product identifiers and the identified location data from the mobile refuse collection vehicle to a data warehouse that maintains the data store.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the identification of a location data corresponding to the plurality of consumers further comprises:

receiving consumer data corresponding to each of the plurality of consumers from the consumers during drop off of the discarded tagged packages at a fixed refuse collection point, wherein the reception of the product identifiers is performed by one or more RFID tag readers installed at the fixed refuse collection point.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

periodically repeating the identifying, receiving, reading, and storing steps over a period of time, wherein the storing includes a timestamp corresponding to a time at which the retrieved product identifiers and the location data were stored; and

collecting historical consumer consumption data from the periodically repeated steps.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

receiving a selected time period from a user; and

wherein the selecting further comprises selecting, from the data store, the stored product identifiers with timestamps corresponding to the selected time period.