Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOS
25.1.2017
The advantages of ShopView for the retail market were presented on January 9, at Continente of Matosinhos, and will be presented in Austria during this month. The prototype is part of the ShopView2Market project, that developed an Automated Solution to Validate Shelf Layouts in Stores. The project is the result of a partnership between WeDo Technologies, Sonae Center Serviços II and Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS.
The ShopView is an innovative solution to control the implementation of planograms, which are the spatial representation of products in shelves. The prototype uses computer vision technology to recognize misplaced products, which decreases significantly the rate of wrong products placement and the costs of control.
The solution was validated with high Technology Readiness Level, meaning, enough maturity for product roadmap definition and commercial use. After several tests, the demonstrations had not critical failures in operational environment. The prototype is easy to deploy and to configure. The built in functionalities can be adapted to user expectations and, at the same time, be fully integrated with the retailer’s business model. ShopView was mainly targeted and tested in large supermarkets, but can be adapted to smaller stores.
The prototype is a drivable platform equipped with sensors and dedicated hardware for high-speed photography system. ShopView can take photographs of the shelves, recognizing the positioning of real products, and evaluates the correct placement of them, also notifying other issues as the visible ruptures.
The project will continue to develop more innovations. It is expected an integration of the information gathered in the store with stocks management and an incorporation of the retail dealer prices system, allowing an automatic audit. In addition, it is predicted to develop a complete robot, allowing the solution to work without human help.
The next step is focused on the commercialization of the system. Will be made an evaluation of costs and benefits, a plan of commercial exploration and a final technical report. At the end, it is expected the registration of two patents.
The investment has so far amounted to € 464,000, co-funded by the European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF) from European Union, framed in the COMPETE 2020 (Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation). Due the exporter nature, the system will be presented in the next few days in Austria, in the SPAR distribution chain, one of the largest retailers in the world.