Cashier for self-service and self-payment by customers in unattended or semi-attended Minimarket that includes delivery of products in machines by avatar recognition.
Base technologies:
RFID identification, photoelectric and infrared detection, EAS / AM-RF anti-theft sensors, Vision / ML for FAR (Formal Avatar Recognition).
Patents: ES2662696B1, US10073996B2, CN108885753A, EP3509028A1, JP2019533263A, IN201927005706A, BR112019004169A2
Advantages
for the User
1 – Self-service without product scanning
A fast4shop Minimarket is similar to a human-scale vending machine or a small convenience store with items that incorporate an RFID tag and an EAS anti-theft tag with AM or RF sensor, and Vision / ML technology for the delivery of products in vending machines.
The user takes the products at will to deposit them in the fast4shop cashier drawer that automatically identifies them for payment.
A quick lunch with little effort!
2 – Selection of vending machine products on the same touch screen
While the fast4shop cashier immediately displays on the screen the items that the users have taken from the shelves and deposited in the drawer, they can complete their purchase by selecting other products that are in refrigerators or in assortment machines (soft drinks, dairy products, coffee, chocolate…).
Here I have my soda and my coffee!
3 – Self-checkout with avatar creation (Vision / ML)
With fast4shop‘s FAR (Formal Avatar Recognition) technology, an image pattern or customer avatar is generated during checkout. This technology is limited so as not to achieve a level of facial recognition that is intrusive to the customer’s privacy and is only generated to automate the delivery of products in the Minimarket machines, eliminating the pattern once it is made.
My lunch in 15 seconds, and paying!
4 – Deactivation of EAS / AM-RF tags at payment
Upon confirmation of payment, the drawer deactivates the EAS anti-theft sensors on the items.
My salad and sandwich in the bag!
5 – Instant delivery of products from the vending machines with the avatar
fast4shop machines (refrigerators, etc.) automatically deliver the products paid for by the customer when they approach thanks to the formal avatar recognition (FAR) algorithm.
The fridge just hands me the soda!
The fast4shop hot drinks vending machine automatically prepares the paid product with the introduction of the appropriate cup in the socket thanks to the formal avatar recognition algorithm (FAR).
Please, my coffee. Thank you!
6 – Output with EAS control archs
The dissuasive cameras (indicated at the entrance), the detection arches of EAS anti-theft sensors and the remote robotic inventory ensure the control of the products.
In the end, my lunch in 30 seconds!
Advantages
for the Business
Profitability: secure and economical transaction with RFID
Minimarkets and convenience stores have an easy and profitable operation with secure transaction RFID identification, compared to Vision / AI technology with vision and thermal cameras, and position detectors on the ceiling, with a large number of sensors and load cells on the shelves, which require maintenance of hundreds if not thousands of them, with a profitability yet to be demonstrated.
Emerging Market: nearby and unattended Minimarkets
The unattended Minimarket, with a surface between 15 and 120 m² and up to a thousand products chosen from shelves and product machines (refrigerator, coffee maker …), is a format for areas with recurring supplies (urban office centers, campuses, administrations, service stations…), excellent for offering fresh and healthy food ready to eat. This format is in full expansion with a forecast of openings of tens of thousands in the present decade.
The semi-attended convenience stores
The semi-attended convenience store, with an area between 150 and 500 m² and several thousand products chosen from shelves and refrigerated products machines (soft drinks, dairy products…), is a neighborhood and residential area format in full expansion. The combination of Shopping Basket with the fast4shop self-service is excellent for a convenience store: fast, secure, with minimal contact and without payment friction.
Reliability, traceability and perishables
The reliability of the transaction with products identified with RFID tag is high and safe. The EPC code mechanizes traceability at the unit item (SKU) level, a feature that the current barcode does not reach and neither can Vision / AI systems. This same rule allows the automatic control of perishables.
Bulk selling a rising trend
Products that can be served in bulk (fruit, vegetables, nuts…) tend to grow to the detriment of those packaged with plastics (blister, thermoformed…). RFID tagged scales are perfect for unattended service in the fast4shop Minimarket.
High turnover, good margins
The fast4shop Minimarket format with high capillarity, very close to consumers, allows close distribution with selected products with added value to the context of their habitat (prepared and fresh ready-to-drink food, soft drinks and coffees), with self-service and self-payment technology, which allows high turnover and good margins._
Fast4shop franchise: management, logistics and technology
A fast4shop franchise with thousands of unattended Minimarkets with remote management and daily replenishment generates full-time, mid- and high-profile jobs with no downtime, no checkout lines, or sales assistants, except for the occasional fast4shop support remote by streaming.
Inventory with RFID column
Sales transactions are communicated in real time to the central management system, and inventory updating is carried out without staff in the Minimarket, at any time with a remote camera and behind closed doors through the mobile RFID column of the roof rail.
The trilemma: centripetal, centrifugal or capillary distribution
The sector is undergoing a transformation from the classic centripetal service, where the customer solves the last mile “go to the store and take it with you”, towards centrifugal distribution, with lower profitability “ask for it on the platform and we will take it home” .
In this process, a third capillary model emerges, fast4shop: a distribution of maximum proximity to the consumer that, due to its location, knows what it needs without intermediaries, with RFID technology and Vision / ML, remote management and high turnover logistics.
Comparison RFID vs. Vision / AI
