BACKGROUND

This disclosure generally relates to registers. Registers are used to record and/or verify transactions. Registers include machines and systems for ascertaining a number of movements of various devices or products. Some registers are used to disclose a numerical quantity. Some examples of registers include cash-registers, fare-registers, voting machines, and calculators, which have registering or counting elements and may have additional certain other features for a given purpose.

Traditionally, retail transactions have taken place in a well-defined physical store with both a representative of the retail store (the merchant) and the shopper (the consumer) present. The consumer typically picks specific products from shelves or fridges. At the end of the picking activity the shopper proceeds to the cash register and pays for the merchandise in a person-to-person transaction with a store associate. Traditionally, the presence of the store associate is necessary to execute payment and/or to prevent shoppers from stealing.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Store associates are costly, they are difficult to manage, and they effectively limit the period of time that the store is open for business. Thus, there is a need in the art for methods and systems for automatically or semi-automatically operating a retail store. The present disclosure enables the operation of a store where only the shopper is present and/or where the number of store associates is reduced.

The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for autonomous and secure physical transactions. More particularly, some embodiments relate to identifying a shopper, providing physical store access to the shopper, identifying the products the shopper removes from shelves, creating a digital shopping basket corresponding to a physical shopping basket, and/or automatically or semi-automatically charging the shopper for items in the shopping basket.

In some embodiments, benefits are achieved over conventional techniques. For example, some embodiments provide methods and systems to operate a retail store unattended, to allow shoppers to shop outside normal operating hours, to operate a store with only a security guard present, to reduce shop lifting and theft, to operate a store without a cash register, to provide easy access to merchandise for delivery services, and/or to operate stores securely in public or semi-public places, such as hotels, shopping malls, airports, train stations, sidewalks and pedestrian areas, schools or universities, and on public transport vehicles.

In some embodiments, a system using registry verification for a mechanized store with permitted access comprises: a structure enclosing an area, wherein the structure is configured to permit access of a plurality of potential users to the area; one or more displays in the area; a plurality of items for sale located at the one or more displays, wherein the plurality of items are mapped to a code configured to be read by a scanning device; one or more cameras configured to count a number of items in a registry removed by a user from the one or more displays; and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to: receive a number of items scanned from the scanning device; receive the number of items removed counted by the one or more cameras; compare the number of items scanned to the number of items removed to obtain a compared value (sometimes referred to as a result); and saving the compared value to a record of the user.

In some embodiments, the one or more displays comprises a first display and a second display; a first item of the plurality of items is located at the first display; a second item of the plurality of items is located at the second display; the camera is further configured to: record that the first item was removed from the first display and record that the second item was removed from the second display. In some embodiments, the one or more processors are configured to update a first electronic basket and a second electronic basket; the first electronic basket corresponds to the number of items removed by the user; and the second electronic basket corresponds to the number of items scanned. In some embodiments, the one or more cameras are configured to count the number of items without identifying the user; the one or more cameras are configured to count the number of items without identifying items; the one or more cameras are configured to count the number of items by identifying movement of a hand and determining if the hand is holding an item; the structure is configured to permit only one user at a time access to the area; the area is a volume less than 3.5 meters wide by 3.5 meters long by 3.5 meters tall; the area is a volume less than 1.5 cubic meters; the structure lacks climate control to control the climate of the area; the system further comprises a Bluetooth receiver configured to unlock doors of the structure based on a received Bluetooth signal; and/or the cameras are configured to use artificial intelligence for determining if an item was taken from a display of the one or more displays.

In some embodiments, a method for using registry verification for a mechanized store comprises: permitting a user access to a structure enclosing an area; counting, using one or more cameras, a number of items removed from one or more displays by a user; tracking, in a registry, the number of items removed; receiving a number of items scanned by a scanner; comparing the number of items in the registry to the number of items scanned to obtain a result; and saving the result to a record of the user. In some embodiments, the method further comprises alerting a store owner, store employee, independent contractor, and/or law enforcement based on the compared result being a negative number, such that the number of items removed is greater than the number of items scanned; tracking the user in the area; and/or transmitting an indication to the user that the compared result is zero, such that the number of items removed equals the number of items scanned. In some embodiments, the scanner is a mobile device belonging to the user and/or counting the number of items removed from one or more displays by a user is performed without identifying the items removed. In some embodiments, a memory device comprising instructions that when executed cause one or more processors to perform the method steps.

In some embodiments, a method for determining items removed from a display is described. In some embodiments the method comprises one or more of the steps: creating a video recording of the display using a video camera directed at the display; analyzing frequency components of frames of the video recording; selecting a plurality of frames of the video recording based on the plurality of frames having higher frequency components than other frames in the video recording; subtracting a background in the plurality of frames; detecting a hand in the plurality of frames; resolving, in the plurality of frames, if the hand holds an object; recording state vectors corresponding to the plurality of frames based on resolving if the hand holds an object in the plurality of frames; and detecting that the object was removed from the display based on the state vectors and a time sequence of the plurality of frames. In some embodiments, detecting the hand in the plurality of frames comprises comparing movement in foreground of the plurality of frames to determine which part of the foreground has more movement than another part of the foreground.

Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating various embodiments, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to necessarily limit the scope of the disclosure.

