APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LOCATING PRODUCTS IN A RETAIL STORE USING A MOBILE DEVICE

摘要

A mobile device is configured to use metadata describing attributes of a packaged product to help the customer or sales associate locate the packaged product stored in inventory. The metadata may, for example, describe the size of the package, color of the package, product number, or placement of text and/or graphics on the package. In one embodiment, the user can use an image capture device on the mobile device to scan and capture images of packaged products stored in inventory. The mobile device uses the metadata to process the digital image and to detect the desired product in the captured image. The mobile device can output a modified image to a display that visually indicates the package product to the display of the mobile device. For example, the mobile device may highlight the packaged product in a digital image or add an icon to the digital image to indicate the packaged product. The modified digital image helps the customer distinguish the desired product from similar products and retrieve the desired product from inventory.

主权项

1. A method implemented in a mobile device of locating a desired product in a product storage area of a retail store, said method comprising:
acquiring description information for a desired product, said description information describing one or more attributes of a product package for the desired product; acquiring, at the product storage location, a digital image of packaged products stored in inventory with an image capture device; processing the digital image using the description information to detect the desired product in the digital image; displaying the digital image on a display of the mobile device; and visually indicating the desired product on the displayed image.