U.S. patent application number 16/654996 was filed with the patent office on 2020-06-04 for sensor platform for geometric physical area.
The applicant listed for this patent is Intel Corporation. Invention is credited to Eddie Balthasar, Craig Owen, Catherine W. Spence, David Stanasolovich.
Application Number | 20200178032 16/654996 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53403441 |
Filed Date | 2020-06-04 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200178032 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stanasolovich; David ; et
al. |
June 4, 2020 |
SENSOR PLATFORM FOR GEOMETRIC PHYSICAL AREA
Abstract
Systems and techniques for a sensor platform for a geometric
physical area are described herein. The sensor platform combines
sensors installed in the physical area with transient sensors on
people and articles within the area. This collaborative sensor data
may then be used to identify interactions between people and
articles and react by using these interactions to locate documents
based on the person, the article, and the interaction within the
geometric physical area.
Inventors: |
Stanasolovich; David;
(Phoenix, AZ) ; Owen; Craig; (Folsom, CA) ;
Spence; Catherine W.; (Merrimack, NH) ; Balthasar;
Eddie; (Bellingham, WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Intel Corporation |
Santa Clara |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53403441 |
Appl. No.: |
16/654996 |
Filed: |
October 16, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15024933 |
Mar 25, 2016 |
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PCT/US13/77153 |
Dec 20, 2013 |
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16654996 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 4/029 20180201;
G06F 16/29 20190101; H04W 4/021 20130101; G06Q 30/0224 20130101;
G06Q 30/0639 20130101; G06Q 30/0238 20130101; G06Q 30/0201
20130101; H04L 67/22 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/029 20060101
H04W004/029; G06F 16/29 20060101 G06F016/29; H04W 4/021 20060101
H04W004/021 |
Claims
1. A sensor platform for a geometric physical area, the sensor
platform comprising: an interface to receive: location information
for a person in the geometric physical area from a location based
service (LBS); identifying information about the person from a
device carried by the person; identifying information about a
companion of the person; a context for an article in the geometric
physical area; and identifying information about the article; and
circuitry to: correlate the article to the person based on a
physical relationship between the person and the article taken from
the location information for the person and the context for the
article; retrieve a document from an external machine using the
identifying information about the person, the identifying
information about the companion, the identifying information about
the article, the context, and the correlation of the article to the
person; and transmit the document to the device carried by the
person.
2. The sensor platform of claim 1, wherein the device carried by
the person is a mobile device operated by the person.
3. The sensor platform of claim 1, wherein the identifying
information about the person is an anonymized identification, the
anonymized identification specific with respect to actions of the
person and general with respect to a general identify of the
person.
4. The sensor platform of claim 1, wherein the physical
relationship includes at least one of: a distance between the
article and the person; or inclusion of both the person and the
article within a predetermined geometric shape, the predetermined
geometric shape being one of a plurality of geometric shapes
defined for the geometric physical area including the article.
5. The sensor platform of claim 1, wherein the context includes at
least one of: a geospatial position of the article relative to an
area including the article; or an article arrangement of the
article that includes an orientation with respect to the
person.
6. The sensor platform of claim 1, wherein the device carried by
the person identifies the article and measures activity of the
person.
7. The sensor platform of claim 1, wherein the document includes
representations of other articles of interest to the person.
8. The sensor platform of claim 7, wherein the document includes a
map of a geometric physical area, the map indicating locations for
the other articles.
9. A non-transitory machine-readable medium including instructions
that, when executed by circuitry of a sensor platform of a
geometric physical area, cause the circuitry to perform operations
comprising: receiving location information for a person in the
geometric physical area from a location based service (LBS);
receiving identifying information about the person from a device
carried by the person; receiving identifying information about a
companion of the person; receiving a context for an article in the
geometric physical area; receiving identifying information about
the article; correlating the article to the person based on a
physical relationship between the person and the article taken from
the location information for the person and the context for the
article; retrieving a document from an external machine using the
identifying information about the person, the identifying
information about the companion, the identifying information about
the article, the context, and the correlation of the article to the
person; and transmitting the document to the device carried by the
person.
10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein
the device carried by the person is a mobile device operated by the
person.
11. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein
the identifying information about the person is an anonymized
identification, the anonymized identification specific with respect
to actions of the person and general with respect to a general
identify of the person.
12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein
the physical relationship includes at least one of: a distance
between the article and the person; or inclusion of both the person
and the article within a predetermined geometric shape, the
predetermined geometric shape being one of a plurality of geometric
shapes defined for the geometric physical area including the
article.
13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein
the context includes at least one of: a geospatial position of the
article relative to an area including the article; or an article
arrangement of the article that includes an orientation with
respect to the person.
14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein
the device carried by the person identifies the article and
measures activity of the person.
15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein
the document includes representations of other articles of interest
to the person.
16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein
the document includes a map of a geometric physical area, the map
indicating locations for the other articles.
17. A method performed by a sensor platform for a geometric
physical area, the method comprising: receiving location
information for a person in the geometric physical area from a
location based service (LBS); receiving identifying information
about the person from a device carried by the person; receiving
identifying information about a companion of the person; receiving
a context for an article in the geometric physical area; receiving
identifying information about the article; correlating the article
to the person based on a physical relationship between the person
and the article taken from the location information for the person
and the context for the article; retrieving a document from an
external machine using the identifying information about the
person, the identifying information about the companion, the
identifying information about the article, the context, and the
correlation of the article to the person; and transmitting the
document to the device carried by the person.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the context includes at least
one of: a geospatial position of the article relative to an area
including the article; or an article arrangement of the article
that includes an orientation with respect to the person.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the document includes
representations of other articles of interest to the person.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the document includes a map of
a geometric physical area, the map indicating locations for the
other articles.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Embodiments described herein generally relate to sensors of
a physical space and more specifically to a sensor platform for a
geometric physical area.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A person may walk through a geometric physical area such as
a retailer location, store, shopping mall, grocery store, etc. and
interact (e.g., browse, carry, try on, sample, etc.) with articles
(e.g., clothing, home goods, sporting goods, electronics, books,
etc.) in the marketplace. In some examples, sensor systems
installed at the geometric physical area may be used to track the
person. Such tracking may include measurements (e.g., images from
cameras) to detect when the person enters or leaves the geometric
physical area.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] in the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale,
like numerals may describe similar components in different views.
Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent
different instances of similar components. The drawings illustrate
generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various
embodiments discussed in the present document.
[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an environment for a sensor
platform, according to an embodiment,
[0005] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a sensor
platform, according to an embodiment.
[0006] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a sensor
platform, according to an embodiment.
[0007] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example of a method to
implement a sensor platform, according to an embodiment.
[0008] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
machine upon which one or more embodiments may be implemented.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] Current geometric physical area analysis of person article
interactions is generally non-existent or limited to noting
purchase decisions of persons, for example at check-out, or
person's entering or leaving the geometric physical area. Current
geometric physical area observations, however, fail to provide
insight into how persons interact with the articles of the
geometric physical area. In some examples, electronic marketplaces
(e.g., web sites from which goods may be purchased) attempt to
track person interactions with presented materials, such as viewing
times, clicks, etc., however, these interactions are limited to
person interactions with elements that may be displayed in an
electronic form and the interactions are likewise limited to those
that may be measured from electronic inputs to the electronic
marketplace.
[0010] The lack of information describing person interaction with
articles in a geometric physical area causes difficulties for
operators to improve the person's shopping experience. To address
this issue, a sensor platform may be used to collect information of
person interactions with articles in the geometric physical area.
In an example, the sensor platform may process the collected
information into actionable data. In an example, the actionable
data may be used to improve the person's experience in the
geometric physical area. In an example, the actionable data may be
used to provide information (e.g., a document) which may promote
sales in the geometric physical area, for example, by providing
incentives to complete a sale, by featuring particular articles,
etc. Thus, by observing person interactions with articles, the
sensor platform may improve person experiences, and give operators
greater options in productively running the geometric physical
area.
[0011] For example, an article sensor (e.g., smart radio frequency
identification (RFID) tag or other embedded devices) attached to
clothing articles may connect with a shopper's smartphone when the
shopper picks up the clothing article to look at it. Picking up the
shirt may be the start of a "browsing event" between this shopper
and this specific clothing article that may be logged. The browsing
event may include information, such as, the duration of the
contact, and the distance that the clothing article travels while
connected with the shopper. The browsing event may be used to
provide a framework for the retailer to offer real-documentation to
accelerate the shopper's purchasing decision. For example, the
platform may learn that a specific shopper spent eight minutes
picking up several different colors of polo jerseys, spending the
most time with navy blue, black, and gray. The shopper tried on a
medium navy blue polo but not a black or gray polo. The shopper
carried both the navy blue and gray polo jerseys through the store
but only purchased the gray polo. Knowing this behavior, an
incentive for the shopper to purchase a second polo would have
probably been successful.
[0012] As used herein, a "geometric physical area" is a physical
location in which articles are available for interactions by a
person. Examples of geometric physical areas include stores, outlet
centers, grocery stores, shopping malls, kiosks, service centers,
physical markets (e.g., farmer's market, flee market, etc.),
stalls, vehicles, such as a commercial airplane where a product
purchase service is offered, etc. A geometric physical area is
"entered" at a point when a person may interact with articles of
the geometric physical area. Thus, in a traditional store, the
geometric physical area is entered when a person steps inside the
store. With respect to a kiosk or stall, the geometric physical
area is entered when the person is close enough to observably
interact with articles of the kiosk or stall. A geometric physical
area is not a catalog, television/electronic service (e.g., such as
an infomercial with telephone number), telephone based purchasing
service, or electronic service (e.g., web site, mobile phone
application, etc.). An interaction area of the geometric physical
area is an area in which articles are displayed. The interaction
area would not include, for example, a restroom, office, closet,
etc. of a geometric physical area where those areas are not used
for selling articles.
[0013] As used herein, an "article" is a thing (e.g., clothes,
toys, sporting equipment, office supplies, electronics, books,
music, etc.) or a service that is available for a person to use at
a geometric physical area. A person is able to interact with an
article or a proxy for the article at the geometric physical area.
An article proxy may include such things as a demonstration model,
a brochure (e.g., describing a vacation), a ticket (e.g., for an
item too large to carry such as a large television, appliance,
etc.), among other things. Either the article or the article proxy
is physically available in the geometric physical area.
[0014] As used herein, a "person" is an entity (e.g., a person)
that may enter the geometric physical area and interact with an
article. In an example, the entity may be proxy for a person, such
as a telepresence platform permitting a remote person to interact
with the geometric physical area or articles over a distance. In an
example, the person is a guest to the geometric physical area. A
guest is not an employee, operator (e.g., owner), or servicer
(e.g., contractor working on behalf of the operator), of the
geometric physical area.
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an environment 100 for a
sensor platform. In this example of a geometric physical area, a
person follows the path 105 after entering the geometric physical
area. Along the path 105 are five points-of-interest (POI) 110 V,
W, X, Y, and Z. Articles 115 A, B, C, D, and E are spread
throughout the geometric physical area. The geometric physical area
includes a POS 130.
[0016] After entering the geometric physical area, the person may
be identified. Identification may prevent tracking of uninteresting
parties, such as employees. In an example, identifying the person
permits the sensor platform to record observed activity of the
person for future analytics. The person may be tracked to POI 110
V. A POI 110 may be any pre-defined area in which a context of the
person and article 115 may be inferred. For example, POI 110 V may
be a display of pants, POI 110 W may be a dressing room, POI 110 X
may be a re-stocking area, POI 110 Y may be a checkout line, and
POI 110 Z may be the checkout at the POS 130. In an example, the
POI 110 may refer to an area, such as the room of the POI 110 V. In
an example, a geometric area may be defined, such as geometric area
120 corresponding to the POI 110 W and the geometric area 125
corresponding to the POI 110 Y or the POI 110 Z. In the area around
POI 110 V are four articles A, B, C, and D. Thus, it may be
inferred that the person is interacting with these articles 115
based on the person's position at the POI 110 V. A further person
interaction with the articles 115 A and B may be inferred b the
position of the articles 115 and the person at the POI 110 W (a
dressing room). The observed context of proximity of the person and
the articles 115 A and B at the dressing room may denote a greater
interest in the articles 115 A and B for the person than for
articles 115 C and D, to which the person was exposed based on the
person's proximity to the POI 110 V. Another example observable
context may be determined when, at the POI 110 X (re-stocking) it
is noted that article 115 B is no longer with the person while
article 115 A remains with the person. Thus, an inference that an
attribute of article 115 A is more important to the person than
some attribute of article 115 B may be made. The POI 110 Y is the
checkout line. The duration of the person's stay in the checkout
line may be measured. In an example, the longer the duration, the
greater weight may be given to the article 115 A's attributes to
indicate desire on the part of the person. The position of the
article 115 A and the person at the POI 110 Z (checkout) allows an
inference that the person intends to purchase the article 115.
[0017] Any mechanism by which the person and articles 115 are
tracked may be used to implement the POI 110 mechanism described
above. In an example, a location based service (LBS) of the
geometric physical area may be used to determine the person's
position or the position of any article 115. Other example location
technologies may include satellite positioning systems (e.g., the
Global Positing system), ground based radio systems (e.g., cellular
telephone trilateration), chemical sensors, etc.
[0018] The proximity of the person at POI 110 V to articles 115 A
and B provides a type of observed context between the person and
these articles 115 in which person activity may be measured. Other
example observed contexts may include manipulation of the article
115 by the person. For example, a smart RFID may provide proximity
information to, for example, a mobile device of the person via its
RFID functionality while also including an accelerometer to
determine if the article 115 is picked up. A smart RFID is an
example of an article sensor. An article sensor is any sensor in
observable contact with a specific article 115 and capable of
providing information of an interaction context. Example observable
sensors may include, a scale (upon which the article rests), an eye
tracker (to determine whether the person is looking at the
article), a touch sensor (such as a. capacitive arrangement on a
conductive article to sense human touch), among others.
[0019] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a sensor
platform 200. The sensor platform 200 allows for use of observable
context information of physical interactions between persons and
articles, such as that described above, to enhance the person
experience at the geometric physical area as well as provide tools
for an operator of the geometric physical area to increase sales.
The sensor platform 200 may include a person circuitry 205, a
report circuitry 210, and an activity circuitry 215. These
circuitries may be colocated on a single machine or separated from
each other and be communicatively coupled when in operation (e.g.,
via a network).
[0020] The person circuitry 205 may be used to identify a person.
In an example, identifying the person includes using a mobile
device of the person. For example, the person's mobile device may
include an application to connect to the sensor platform 200 (e.g.,
the person circuitry 205) and provide identification information,
such as a person name, member ID, etc. In an example, identifying
the person includes creating an anonymized identification of the
person. Such an anonymized identification may include such
information as an anonymous ID, demographic information (e.g., age,
sex, job, etc.), time of day, day of month, etc. In an example, the
anonymized identification is specific with respect to actions of
the person and general with respect to a general identity of the
person. For example, that the person picked up a particular plate
pattern, carried a card of the set (e.g., an article proxy) to the
register, and did not purchase the plates may be specifically
attributed to the demographic information of the person, but not to
the person himself.
[0021] In an example, identifying the person may include
identifying a companion of the person. In this example, the
observed context may include the companion. For example, it may be
observed that a person is near another person. This proximity may
be observed in different visits to the geometric physical area, or
over an extended period during a single visit. Such companion
identification may provide additional data to the observed context.
For example, a pair shopping for flatware may allow the inference
that they live together and suggest other items that may be of
interest to them.
[0022] The activity circuitry 215 may be used to identify an
article based on a physical relationship with the person. In an
example, the physical relationship may include a distance between
the article and the person. For example, if the person is within
RFID range of the article, the article may be identified. In
another example, if the person is at a display, articles in the
display may be identified. In an example, the physical relationship
may include the presence of the person and the article within a
predetermined geometric shape, such as geometric shape 120 or 125
described above. Use of the geometric shape may solve some
interaction ambiguities. For example, a person may take several
articles to a dressing room but only allowed one at a time in a
stall. That the articles may not be next to the person (e.g., out
of RFID range) is inconsequential until either the person or the
article leaves the area. This may also be true for checkout lines
if, for example, a belt, valet, or other mechanism exists to convey
the article to the POS outside of the person's possession. In an
example, the predetermined geometric shape may be one of a
plurality of geometric shapes defined for an interaction area
including the article.
[0023] The activity circuitry 215 may also be used to determine a
person activity with respect to the person and the article based on
an observed context of the person and the article. An observed
context includes information obtainable by the activity circuitry
about the person and the article. For example, the observed context
may include article position information. In an example, the
position information may include a geospatial position relative to
an interaction area including the article. In an example, the
person activity may include physical possession of the article by
the person and at least one of duration of possession or location
of possession.
[0024] In an example, the position information may include an
article arrangement. In an example, the article arrangement may
include an orientation with respect to the person. For example, a
flat article may be picked up and tilted into a more vertical
orientation (e.g., so that the person may see it better). In an
example, article arrangement may include, such things as an
unfolding of the article, repositioning the article on a stand,
etc. As noted here and above, article sensors or positioning
systems may be used, among other things, to provide observed
context information. In an example, a mobile device operated by the
person may be used to identify the article (e.g., via. RFID,
scanning a bar code, etc.). In an example, the mobile device may be
used to determine the person activity. For example, a smart RFID
tag on a tool may communicate, via the mobile phone, that the tool
is moving (e.g., via an accelerometer). This information may be
passed to the activity circuitry 215 via the mobile device.
[0025] In an example, the activity circuitry 215 may include, or
may interface with, an article tracking circuitry 225, a POI ID
circuitry 230, and a correlation circuitry 235 to determine the
person activity. The article tracking circuitry 225 may track the
article in an interaction area. For example, the article may
include a passive RFID tag. A series of RFID interrogators in a
department may periodically interrogate RFID tags. By noting which
interrogators may read a particular RFID tag, and knowing the
positing of the interrogators within the interaction area, as
position of the article may be ascertained. In an example, an
article sensor may employ a location service (e.g., GPS, LBS, etc.)
and report its position to the article tracking circuitry 225. In
an example, a camera system may provide still or video images that
may be processed to identify the article. Knowing the interaction
area positions any given view covers provides a location of the
article.
[0026] The person tracking circuitry 220 may track the person in
the interaction area. The person tracking circuitry 220 is
distinguishable from the person circuitry 205 in that the first
determines person position within the geometric physical area while
the second is concerned with personal information about the person.
The person tracking circuitry 220 may employ any of the techniques
described above with respect to article tracking. In an example,
the mobile device of the person is employed to aid in the person
tracking. In an example, the mobile device provides the person's
position.
[0027] The POI ID circuitry 230 may identify a POI in the
interaction area. For example, the POI IS circuitry 230 may provide
an interface in which a POI is defined. Such an interface may
provide for the identification of an area (e.g., sporting goods) or
a geometric shape.
[0028] The correlation circuitry 235 may note a confluence of the
article, the person, and the POI. For example, the person and the
article may be tracked separately by the article tracking circuitry
225 and the person tracking circuitry 220 respectively. Observing
that the article and person moved together into a POI may allow the
inference that the person is in possession of the article. This may
still, however, not be sufficient to determine other ways in which
the person is interacting with the article. In this example, the
POI may be used to provide additional interaction information. For
example, if the person is observed with the article at a dressing
room and also at checkout, it may be inferred that the person tried
on the article and is willing to buy the article.
[0029] The report circuitry 210 may report on the person activity.
In an example, reporting the person activity may include adding an
event to a browsing history for the person. In an example, the
browsing history may be maintained by the person circuitry 205. The
browsing history may include person activity data indexed by visits
of the person to the geometric physical area. In an example, the
browsing history may include information about person visits to
other geometric physical areas. In an example, the browsing history
may include a correlation model to identify other persons similar
to the person. In an example, these other person's browsing history
may be used to supplement the person's browsing history.
[0030] In an example, reporting the person activity may include
communicating the activity to a research platform 240. In an
example, reporting to the research platform 240 may include
anonymizing the person. Such communications may provide an
additional revenue stream for the physical market place. In an
example, the research platform 240 may aggregate person activity
data for a particular article or class of articles. In an example,
the research platform 240 may communicate activity information to
third parties, such as article manufacturers, other retailers,
etc.
[0031] In an example, reporting the person activity may include
communicating the activity to an documents platform 245. In an
example, a delivery circuitry 250 may be used to deliver a
document, such as a purchase incentive to the person from the
documents platform. In an example, the purchase incentive may be
delivered to a mobile device of the person.
[0032] Example purchase incentives may include a discount on the
article, notification of a complimentary article (e.g., jewelry to
match shirt, knife block to match knife, etc.), coupon on unrelated
service (e.g., free car wash at another retailer for purchasing
vacation), etc. In an example, the purchase incentive may include
representations of other articles of interest to the person based
on a browsing history of the person. For example, a person who has
bought jeans in the past may be presented with an advertisement for
a new brand of jeans being offered at the geometric physical area.
In an example, the purchase incentive may include a map of the
interaction area indicating locations for the other articles, such
as the jeans. In another example, a person observed interacting
with a shirt may be presented other articles to complete an outfit.
The map would indicate the locations of the other articles
comprising the ensemble.
[0033] In an example, the purchase incentive may be selected from a
plurality of purchase incentives based on an identified companion
of the person. For example, a person with a partner identified as a
companion near a holiday may be offered a romantic article in the
purchase incentive. In another example, a person with a companion
identified as a child may be offered a purchase incentive for a
toy, for example, near the companion's birthday.
[0034] In an example, the purchase incentive may be selected based
on a predictive analytic. A predictive analytic is a model designed
to predict future behavior based on current behavior. Examples may
include models based on age, socio-economic status, taste profiles,
etc. In an example, the predictive analytic may be derived from a
browsing history of the person.
[0035] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a sensor
platform 300. The platform 300 includes a variation on task
separation from that discussed above with respect to the platform
200. The platform 300 generally separates tasks along a browsing
event. A browsing event is a period and corresponding activity
between a person and an article. For example, a browsing event may
begin when the person looks at an article and end when the person
puts the article down or purchases the article. In an example,
browsing events may be subdivided into discrete browsing actions.
For example, a person picking up an article may be a first browsing
action and the person turning the shirt over may be a second
browsing action. The platform 300 may include a browsing event
trigger circuitry 305, a browsing event tracking circuitry 310, a
browsing event storage circuitry 320, a browsing event comparison
circuitry 315, and a browsing learning and incentive circuitry
325.
[0036] The browsing event trigger circuitry 305 may interface
between article sensors and a person's mobile device to determine
whether the person is interacting with the article. Once it is
determined that an interaction is taking place, the browsing event
trigger circuitry 305 initiates a browsing event.
[0037] The browsing event tracking circuitry 310 may track data of
the browsing event. In an example, the tracked data may include a
duration of the browsing event. In an example, the tracked data may
include a distance that the person travels with the article. In an
example, geospatial tracking information from an LBS of the
geometric physical area may be part of the tracked data.
[0038] The browsing storage circuitry 320 may store browsing
information. In an example, the browsing information may include
one or more of, the person, the article that was browsed, purchase
tendencies of the person, relationship between browsing events and
purchase decisions, etc. The browsing storage circuitry 320 acts as
a data repository from whence additional browsing analytics may be
derived and stored for future use.
[0039] The browsing event comparison circuitry 315 may compare an
on-going (e.g., real-time) browsing event with historic
characteristics (e.g., behaviors) of persons (e.g., the current
person of the on-going browsing event) to determine a predictive
analytic for the browsing event. Thus, the browsing event
comparison circuitry 315 may bridge the gap between historical
knowledge and current activities to identify a model for the
current activity.
[0040] The browsing learning and incentive circuitry 325 may use
the determined predictive analytic from the browsing event
comparison circuitry 315 to enact an incentive designed to
accelerate the person's decision to purchase an article. For
example, the browsing learning and incentive circuitry 325 may
determine e.g., based on the data mining of shopper's previous
physical store browsing characteristics, and purchase results
whether the best timing for an incentive for this specific shopper
is when they first pick up the clothing article or after they try
it on in the changing room. In an example, the browsing learning
and incentive circuitry 325 may determine that the incentive worked
in an unexpected manner (e.g., was more successful or less
successful than predicted) and modify the predictive analytic to
account for the variance. For example, an incentive that suggested
an add-on item of a tie when a sport coat is being browsed, may be
changed when suggesting the tie rarely results in a sale when
fashions change).
[0041] The following is an example of a scenario using the browsing
event centric arrangement described above with respect to the
sensor platform 300. Chris is shopping in the local clothing store,
looking to buy a summer jersey. He is looking at the display of
summer jerseys. He scans the various jerseys on the display table,
and spots one that he likes. He picks it up off of the display
table. The article sensor in the jersey detects that the jersey has
been picked up off of the display table and connects with Chris'
smartphone to start a browsing event. This is transmitted via the
smartphone to the sensor platform 300 resident in the clothing
store's private cloud where Chris's physical store browsing and
purchase history are accessed.
[0042] The sensor platform 300 may measure the duration that Chris
holds onto the jersey, as well as whether Chris moves the jersey
from the table and carries it to another location in the store to a
location, such as a dressing (e.g., changing) room. Using a
predictive analytic, the sensor platform 300 determines Chris'
affinity (e.g., buying desire) for the jersey by the duration of
time that Chris holds the jersey and if Chris takes the jersey away
from the display table. The sensor platform 300 sends (via text
message, etc.) a real time incentive to Chris to buy the jersey in
his hand now. Based on Chris' historical browsing and purchasing
data at the clothing store, the sensor platform 300 determines that
once Chris tries on a piece of clothing, or otherwise holds on to
the clothing article for longer than two minutes and ten seconds,
he will make a purchase with 87% probability. Therefore the sensor
platform 300 offers him a 15% coupon incentive when he picks up the
jersey and holds it for longer than 20 seconds.
[0043] In a further example of a scenario using the browsing event
centric arrangement described above with respect to the sensor
platform 300, Erin is shopping at the clothing store and is looking
for a new pair of jeans. She takes a pair of jeans that she is
interested in from the rack. As in the example with Chris, the
sensor platform 300 logs a browsing event. The sensor platform 300
uses Erin's physical store browsing and purchasing records. The
sensor platform 300 determines that she has previously looked at
(e.g., triggered browsing events) several shirts and other tops.
The sensor platform 300 texts Erin a real-time offer for a 30%
discount if she buys the jeans that she is looking at, and a
matching shirt and socks which she has looked at in a previous
visit.
[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example of a method 400
to implement a sensor platform.
[0045] At operation 405, a person may be identified. In an example,
identifying the person may include using a mobile device operated
by the person. In an example, identifying the person may include
creating an anonymized identification for the person. In an example
the anonymized identification is specific with respect to actions
of the person and general with respect to a general identify of the
person. In an example, identifying the person may include
identifying a companion of the person.
[0046] At operation 410, an article may be identified based on a
physical relationship with the person. In an example, the physical
relationship may include the distance between the article and the
person. In an example, the physical relationship may include
inclusion of both the person and the article within a predetermined
geometric shape. In an example, the predetermined geometric shape
may be one of a plurality of geometric shapes defined for an
interaction area. including the article.
[0047] At operation 415, a person activity with respect to the
person and the article may be determined based on an observed
context of the person and the article. In an example, the observed
context may include article position information. In an example,
the article position information may include a geospatial position
relative to an interaction area including the article. In an
example, the article position information may include an article
arrangement. In an example, the article arrangement may include an
orientation with respect to the person. In an example, the observed
context may include the companion. In an example, the person
activity may include physical possession of the article by the
person. In an example, the person activity may include a duration
of possession. In an example, the person activity may include a
location of possession. In an example, the person activity may
include a manipulation (e.g., holding, touching, wearing etc.) of
the article by the person.
[0048] In an example, identifying the article and determining the
person activity may be performed by a mobile device operated by the
person. For example, the mobile device may identify the article via
near field communications when the person touches the article with
the mobile device. Further, the mobile device may report a picture
of the article taken by the person and, for example, sent to a
companion (e.g., a spouse).
[0049] In an example, determining the person activity may include
tracking the article in an interaction area, tracking the person in
the interaction area, identifying a POI in the interaction area,
and noting a confluence of the article, the person, and the
POI.
[0050] At operation 420, the person activity may be reported. In an
example, reporting the person activity may include adding an event
to a browsing history for the person. In an example, reporting the
person activity includes communicating the activity to a research
platform. In an example, reporting the person activity to the
research platform may include anonymizing the person.
[0051] In an example, reporting the person activity may include
communicating the activity to a documents platform.
[0052] In an example, the method 400 may comprise delivering a
purchase incentive to the person from the documents platform. In an
example, the purchase incentive may be delivered to a mobile device
of the person. In an example, the purchase incentive may include
representations of other articles of interest to the person based
on a browsing history of the person. In an example, the purchase
incentive may include a map of an interaction area. The map may
indicate locations for the other articles.
[0053] In an example, the purchase incentive may be selected from a
plurality of purchase incentives based on the companion. In an
example, the purchase incentive may be selected based a predictive
analytic. In an example, the predictive analytic may be derived
from a browsing history of the person.
[0054] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine 500
upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies)
discussed herein may perform. In alternative embodiments, the
machine 500 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected
(e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the
machine 500 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a
client machine, or both in server-client network environments. In
an example, the machine 500 may act as a peer machine in
peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The
machine 500 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top
box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone,
a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine
capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that
specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a
single machine is illustrated, the term "machine" shall also be
taken to include any collection of machines that individually or
jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform
any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as
cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), other computer
cluster configurations.
[0055] Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate
on circuitry (e.g., processing circuitry), such as logic or a
number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Circuitry comprises
are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing
specified operations when operating. Thus, circuitry A is hardware.
In an example, the hardware may be specifically configured to carry
out a specific operation (e.g., hardwired). In an example, the
hardware may include configurable execution units (e.g.,
transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computer readable medium
containing instructions, where the instructions configure the
execution units to carry out a specific operation when in
operation. The configuring may occur under the direction of the
executions units or a loading mechanism. Accordingly, the execution
units are communicatively coupled to the computer readable medium
when the device is operating. In this example, the execution units
may be a member of more than one circuit at one point in time or
differing points in time. For example, under operation, the
execution units may be configured by a first set of instructions to
be a part of a first circuit at one point in time and reconfigured
by a second set of instructions to be a part, of a second
circuit.
[0056] Machine (e.g., computer system) 500 may include a hardware
processor 502 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics
processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any
combination thereof), a main memory 504 and a static memory 506,
some or all of which may communicate with each other via an
interlink (e.g., bus) 508. The machine 500 may further include a
display unit 510, an alphanumeric input device 512 (e.g., a
keyboard), and a person interface (UI) navigation device 514 (e.g.,
a mouse), In an example, the display unit 510, input device 512 and
UI navigation device 514 may be a touch screen display. The machine
500 may additionally include a storage device (e.g., drive unit)
516, a signal generation device 518 (e.g., a speaker), a network
interface device 520, and one or more sensors 521, such as a global
positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other
sensor. The machine 500 may include an output controller 528, such
as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other
wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication
(NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more
peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).
[0057] The storage device 516 may include a machine readable medium
522 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or
instructions 524 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one
or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The
instructions 524 may also reside, completely or at least partially,
within the main memory 504, within static memory 506, or within the
hardware processor 502 during execution thereof by the machine 500.
In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor
502, the main memory 504, the static memory 506, or the storage
device 516 may constitute machine readable media.
[0058] While the machine readable medium 522 is illustrated as a
single medium, the term "machine readable medium" may include a
single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed
database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store
the one or more instructions 524.
[0059] The term "machine readable medium" may include any medium
that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for
execution by the machine 500 and that cause the machine 500 to
perform any one or more of the techniques of the present
disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying
data structures used by or associated with such instructions.
Non-limiting machine readable medium examples may include
solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. In an
example, a massed machine readable medium comprises a machine
readable medium with a plurality of particles having resting mass.
Specific examples of massed machine readable media may include:
non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g.,
Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically
Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory
devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable
disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.
[0060] The instructions 524 may further be transmitted or received
over a communications network 526 using a transmission medium via
the network interface device 520 utilizing any one of a number of
transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP),
transmission control protocol (TCP), person datagram protocol
(UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example
communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a
wide area network (WAN), a. packet data network (e.g., the
Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks),
Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks
(e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi.RTM., IEEE 802.16 family
of standards known as WiMax.RTM.), IEEE 802.15.4 family of
standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an
example, the network interface device 520 may include one or more
physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or
more antennas to connect to the communications network 526. In an
example, the network interface device 520 may include a plurality
of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of
single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output
(MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. The term
"transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible
medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying
instructions for execution by the machine 500, and includes digital
or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to
facilitate communication of such software.
Additional Notes & Examples
[0061] Example 1 is a sensor platform for a geometric physical
area, the sensor platform comprising: an interface to receive:
location information for a person in the geometric physical area
from a location based service (LBS); identifying information about
the person from a device carried by the person; identifying
information about a companion of the person; a context for an
article in the geometric physical area; and identifying information
about the article; and circuitry to: correlate the article to the
person based on a physical relationship between the person and the
article taken from the location information for the person and the
context for the article; retrieve a document from an external
machine using the identifying information about the person, the
identifying information about the companion, the identifying
information about the article, the context, and the correlation of
the article to the person; and transmit the document to the device
carried by the person.
[0062] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the
device carried by the person is a mobile device operated by the
person.
[0063] In Example 3, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-2,
wherein the identifying information about the person is an
anonymized identification, the anonymized identification specific
with respect to actions of the person and general with respect to a
general identify of the person.
[0064] In Example 4, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-3,
wherein the physical relationship includes at least one of: a
distance between the article and the person; or inclusion of both
the person and the article within a predetermined geometric shape,
the predetermined geometric shape being one of a plurality of
geometric shapes defined for the geometric physical area including
the article.
[0065] In Example 5, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-4,
wherein the context includes at least one of: a geospatial position
of the article relative to an area including the article; or an
article arrangement of the article that includes an orientation
with respect to the person.
[0066] In Example 6, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-5,
wherein the device carried by the person identifies the article and
measures activity of the person.
[0067] In Example 7, the subject matter of any of Examples 1-6,
wherein the document includes representations of other articles of
interest to the person.
[0068] In Example 8, the subject matter of Example 7, wherein the
document includes a map of a geometric physical area, the map
indicating locations for the other articles.
[0069] Example 9 is a non-transitory machine-readable medium
including instructions that, when executed by circuitry of a sensor
platform of a geometric physical area, cause the circuitry to
perform operations comprising: receiving location information for a
person in the geometric physical area from a location based service
(LBS); receiving identifying information about the person from a.
device carried by the person; receiving identifying information
about a companion of the person; receiving a context for an article
in the geometric physical area; receiving identifying information
about the article; correlating the article to the person based on a
physical relationship between the person and the article taken from
the location information for the person and the context for the
article; retrieving a document from an external machine using the
identifying information about the person, the identifying
information about the companion, the identifying information about
the article, the context, and the correlation of the article to the
person; and transmitting the document to the device carried by the
person.
[0070] In Example 10, the subject matter of Example 9, wherein the
device carried by the person is a mobile device operated by the
person.
[0071] In Example 11, the subject matter of any of Examples 9-10,
wherein the identifying information about the person is an
anonymized identification, the anonymized identification specific
with respect to actions of the person and general with respect to a
general identify of the person.
[0072] In Example 12, the subject matter of any of Examples 9-11,
wherein the physical relationship includes at least one of: a
distance between the article and the person; or inclusion of both
the person and the article within a predetermined geometric shape,
the predetermined geometric shape being one of a plurality of
geometric shapes defined for the geometric physical area including
the article.
[0073] In Example 13, the subject matter of any of Examples 9-12,
wherein the context includes at least one of: a geospatial position
of the article relative to an area including the article; or an
article arrangement of the article that includes an orientation
with respect to the person.
[0074] in Example 14, the subject matter of any of Examples 9-13,
wherein the device carried by the person identifies the article and
measures activity of the person.
[0075] In Example 15, the subject matter of any of Examples 9-14,
wherein the document includes representations of other articles of
interest to the person.
[0076] In Example 16, the subject matter of Example 15, wherein the
document includes a map of a geometric physical area, the map
indicating locations for the other articles.
[0077] Example 17 is a method performed by a sensor platform for a
geometric physical area, the method comprising: receiving location
information for a person in the geometric physical area from a
location based service (LBS); receiving identifying information
about the person from a device carried by the person; receiving
identifying information about a companion of the person; receiving
a context for an article in the geometric physical area; receiving
identifying information about the article; correlating the article
to the person based on a physical relationship between the person
and the article taken from the location information for the person
and the context for the article; retrieving a document from an
external machine using the identifying information about the
person, the identifying information about the companion, the
identifying information about the article, the context, and the
correlation of the article to the person; and transmitting the
document to the device carried by the person.
[0078] In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17, wherein the
device carried by the person is a mobile device operated by the
person.
[0079] In Example 19, the subject matter of any of Examples 17-18,
wherein the identifying information about the person is an
anonymized identification, the anonymized identification specific
with respect to actions of the person and general with respect to a
general identify of the person.
[0080] In Example 20, the subject matter of any of Examples 17-19,
wherein the physical relationship includes at least one of: a
distance between the article and the person; or inclusion of both
the person and the article within a predetermined geometric shape,
the predetermined geometric shape being one of a plurality of
geometric shapes defined for the geometric physical area including
the article.
[0081] In Example 21, the subject matter of any of Examples 17-20,
wherein the context includes at least one of: a geospatial position
of the article relative to an area including the article; or an
article arrangement of the article that includes an orientation
with respect to the person.
[0082] In Example 22, the subject matter of any of Examples 17-21,
wherein the device carried by the person identifies the article and
measures activity of the person.
[0083] In Example 23, the subject matter of any of Examples 17-22,
wherein the document includes representations of other articles of
interest to the person.
[0084] In Example 24, the subject matter of Example 23, wherein the
document includes a map of a geometric physical area, the map
indicating locations for the other articles.
[0085] Example 25 is at least one machine-readable medium including
instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the
processing circuitry to perform operations to implement of any of
Examples 1-24.
[0086] Example 26 is an apparatus comprising means to implement of
any of Examples 1-24.
[0087] Example 27 is a system to implement of any of Examples
1-24.
[0088] Example 28 is a method to implement of any of Examples
1-24.
[0089] The above detailed description includes references to the
accompanying drawings, which form a part of the detailed
description. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific
embodiments that may be practiced. These embodiments are also
referred to herein as "examples." Such examples may include
elements in addition to those shown or described. However, the
present inventors also contemplate examples in which only those
elements shown or described are provided. Moreover, the present
inventors also contemplate examples using any combination or
permutation of those elements shown or described (or one or more
aspects thereof), either with respect to a particular example (or
one or more aspects thereof), or with respect to other examples (or
one or more aspects thereof) shown or described herein.
[0090] All publications, patents, and patent documents referred to
in this document are incorporated by reference herein in their
entirety, as though individually incorporated by reference. In the
event of inconsistent usages between this document and those
documents so incorporated by reference, the usage in the
incorporated reference(s) should be considered supplementary to
that of this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the
usage in this document controls.
[0091] In this document, the terms "a" or "an" are used, as is
common in patent documents, to include one or more than one,
independent of any other instances or usages of "at least one" or
"one or more." In this document, the term "or" is used to refer to
a nonexclusive or, such that "A or B" includes "A but not B," "B
but not A," and "A and B," unless otherwise indicated. In the
appended claims, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as
the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising"
and "wherein." Also, in the following claims, the terms "including"
and "comprising" are open-ended, that is, a system, device,
article, or process that includes elements in addition to those
listed after such a term in a claim are still deemed to fall within
the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the following claims, the
terms "first," "second," and "third," etc. are used merely as
labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on
their objects.
[0092] The above description is intended to be illustrative, and
not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one
or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each
other. Other embodiments may be used, such as by one of ordinary
skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The Abstract
is to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the
technical disclosure, for example, to comply with 37 C.F.R.
.sctn.1.72(b) in the United States of America. It is submitted with
the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit
the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in the above Detailed
Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline
the disclosure. This should not be interpreted as intending that an
unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim. Rather,
inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a
particular disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are
hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim
standing on its own as a separate embodiment. The scope of the
embodiments should be determined with reference to the appended
claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such
claims are entitled.
* * * * *