UA researchers apply video tech to retail

The RFID Research Center and the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST) at the University of Arkansas have partnered to conduct research that will integrate emerging visual identification technologies to use for retail applications.

This new visual technology uses 2-D and 3-D imaging processes already found in cell phones and video gaming devices.

Researchers say retailers will be able to use this technology to identify objects without the need for traditional barcodes.

Products on store shelves or in warehouses can be recognized quickly and linked to product information databases. When linked to associated product information, the product can be added to inventory, verified for correct location and removed from inventory at checkout.

“There are millions of devices in the hands of retailers and consumers across the United States today that can take a picture of an item – an apple or a detergent bottle, for example – send that picture to a server and then let software automatically identify the item,” said Justin Patton, managing director of the RFID Center.

“The process is as simple as scanning a barcode, but it works from all angles and can capture many items at once. An image is enough, and the hardware is cheap.”

Researchers will collaborate to make applications that translate into reliable tools that can help retailers identify items missing from store shelves, speed up the self-check-out process and locate items within vast distribution centers.

“What is needed is a common digital data standard for shared items that can be used across platforms and amongst retailers,” said Jackson Cothren, associate professor of geosciences and director of CAST. “You can buy a bag of chips at a concert in Germany or at a gas station in New Mexico, and the standard VIT traits of that item are shared. This will have a major impact on the retail industry in the next three years.”

Preliminary research began in 2010 with early prototypes of Microsoft Kinect systems that can identify grocery items. The centers are now conducting studies on deep scans of actual store environments and within laboratory space at the RFID Research Center.

The researchers have created 3-D models of the products and store environments comprised of billions of data points. They have begun to identify promising data that can be used to create a standard library of object information. Initial results will be issued this fall.

The RFID Research Center serves a large network of retailers and suppliers and has broad knowledge of store processes. The center has been successful at integrating new technology at large retailers such as Walmart, Dillard’s, JC Penney and Bloomingdale’s.