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| Advisor: |
Anijo Mathew (Mississippi State University)
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| Duration: |
4 weeks,
Architecture and Virtual Spaces Final Project
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| Team: |
Lalatendu Satpathy
Nathaniel Pierce
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| Full Abstract |
[ Full Abstract from ICADI conference ] |
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Presented at the International Conference on Aging, Disability and Independence, (ICADI, 2006) |
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Cat Eye |
Personal shopping is among the hardest activity for physically challenged people (especially those using motorized wheel chairs) as well as visually impaired and/or elderly people with physical disabilities. The described invention is an attempt to assist people with or without disabilities for independent shopping. The invention uses a RFID scanner to scan product information that is then displayed on the screen of a wearable computer. The design includes 1) earpiece, 2) display visor, 3) Bluetooth connectivity, 4) RFID scanner, all mounted on a 5) eyewear that the user can either purchase or rent from the retail store. For visually impaired people who may face difficulty in reading information on the display; the information can also be translated to an audio format using common text readers
understanding the user is an essential step in good design. we used a variety of research methods to develop a clear understanding of who our users are, what our users desire, and ways to personalize the experience.
The invention (which we call Cat Eye) proposes to use specially designed eyewear with a barcode/RFID reader, eye glass and Bluetooth wireless link built-in. A clip on viewer (like Micro Optical Corp's SV6 viewer http://www.microopticalcorp.com/) may also be added to the consumer's existing eyewear for the same purpose. In this system the customer can mount the Cat Eye system on her existing eyewear or can rent/borrow the Cat Eye system from the grocery store itself. When the customer is interested in a product, she simply pulls up to the product shelf. Using the joystick on the wheelchairs controller, she can ask the RFID detector mounted on the Cat Eye to scan the RFID tag attached to the product or on the product shelf. The computer then displays the product information and the unit price of the product on the Micro Optical visor. The information can also be heard through the ear piece; the computer uses a simple text-to-speech software to accomplish this. The customer now has the option to either add the product to the virtual shopping cart or cancel it. This process can be repeated till the user finishes her shopping and wishes to checkout. Once the user decides to checkout, the information in the virtual cart can be transmitted to the central database. At this point the customer can pick the goods up herself or ask the vendor to arrange a home delivery. This method simplifies the checkout process and nullifies the pain of carrying the products for an individual bound to a wheel chair.
Hence put simply, this invention integrates the simplicity of online shopping with the social experience of physical shopping.
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Figure: Screen shot of the diaplay after the RFID tag has been scanned
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| Figure: Final cart list for check-out process |
This invention will eventually create a better shopping experience for physically challenged, old elderly people and people with visual impairment or activity. The design is currently under development and a provisional patent has been applied for. Since this design is in conceptual development stage; development of a prototype is necessary to evaluate this product’s full potential. We are currently working with several organizations and research centers to design and test this prototype.
The biggest impediment to the design of such a system is convincing retail stores to develop databases that can be accessed and retrieved by the assistive systems like Cat-Eye. With major retail stores shifting from bar-code to RFID, developing the network links become easier. However, before transferring this product into the everyday shopper’s hands, more research is required with focus groups, and possibly user studies using the actual prototype.
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