Smart Autonomous Shopping Cart: An Experimental Study using ESP8266 and RFID Tags

Smart Autonomous Shopping Cart: An Experimental Study using ESP8266 and RFID Tags

Dr. R. Nandhakumar

Assistant Professor Department of Computer science, School of Computer Science Engineering and Applications

Erode Arts and Science College(Autonomous), Erode,Tamilnadu – 638009

Dr. M. Durairaj

Associate Professor, Department of Computer science, School of Computer Science Engineering and Applications

Bharathidasan University Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu – 620023

The world of technology is constantly evolving with advancements in areas such as the Internet of Things. This has led to innovative solutions for various problems, including automating shopping processes for consumers. The paper proposes an autonomous movable shopping cart for elderly people using ESP8266 Microcontroller and RFID rechargeable card to enhance their shopping experience. The main objective of the research was to ease and shorten the queue during the payment process, making the payment activity more efficient. The system is designed to shorten the payment process by attaching tags with unique IDs to each item and using an RFID reader to scan the data, which is then displayed on the LCD and updated in the centralized database. The app “NoobTron Shopping App” provides a platform for adding items to the cart and controlling the movement of the trolley. Payment can be facilitated through the app. The customers can control the movement of the trolley through the app. This solution provides convenience and efficiency to elderly customers, enabling them to shop with ease and reducing the chances of long queues and overspending. The user is able to view the cost details on the GUI and make choices on whether to cancel or continue the payment process. The research improves the shopping experience for elderly people, and the time taken during the payment process can be reduced by 63.12% compared to the current payment system using barcode scan.

Keywords : User friendly cart, NoobTron App, RFID reader, GUI, Smart Shopping

INTRODUCTION:

In this era of technology, IoT (Internet of Things) has become an integral part of our daily lives, with its applications expanding into various fields, including the world of shopping. Smart shopping systems utilizing RFID and IoT technology are designed to make the shopping experience more efficient and enjoyable by automating processes such as scanning items and storing product information in real-time. One of the biggest problems with conventional shopping methods is the long queues at checkout counters, leading to customer frustration and loss of time. This research aims to address this issue by developing an automatic shopping cart that enables customers to shop with ease and security. The smart cart uses RFID technology to help customers locate products quickly and accurately, and also ensures accurate pricing and weight calculation of purchased items. With the NoobTron Shopping App, customers can keep track of their purchases and edit their shopping list as needed, while the prepaid account automatically debits the total amount once shopping is complete. RFID is a cutting-edge technology widely used in Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) systems. It uses radio waves to identify physical objects automatically and is a type of auto-ID technology. RFID is used in various industries such as animal tracking, healthcare improvement, and warehouse management. The technology consists of RFID tags, which are microchips attached to physical objects, RFID readers, and antennas. Each tag contains a unique serial number and holds various information, including product type, quantities, manufacturing date, and expiry date, among other data points. RFID tags are placed on products and can be read by the RFID reader from a distance, providing valuable purchase and inventory data. This technology can also analyse customer purchasing patterns and facilitate smooth payment. Today, payment systems are becoming increasingly important, particularly in crowded and busy grocery stores and supermarkets. Long queues at billing counters can be frustrating for customers and can impact the overall shopping experience. An automated payment system using RFID technology can help alleviate these issues by reducing the amount of time customers spend in queues and improving the payment process. Long queues at checkout counters can also lead to overshooting the budget, and customers may sometimes experience difficulties in tracking their purchases and ensuring they have not missed anything. This research addresses these challenges by providing a seamless and efficient shopping experience through

the use of an automatic shopping cart that utilizes RFID technology to streamline and simplify the process. This will not only help to reduce stress and improve the shopping experience, but will also provide valuable insights into customer behavior and product preferences, leading to better inventory management and improved business outcomes. The ultimate goal of the research is to develop a convenient payment system that eliminates the queue at the checkout counter and improves the overall shopping experience. Shopping in supermarkets is a daily activity for many people, and customers often find it difficult to find products easily.

Fig.1 Real-Time Development of SMART Shopping Cart

Proposed Experimental Methodology:

The aim of this research is to address the issue of long checkout lines at retail stores by developing an automatic shopping cart that utilizes RFID technology to help customers shop with ease and security. The smart cart will be equipped with a prepaid account that allows customers to keep track of their purchases through a user-friendly “NoobTron Shopping App”. The app will allow customers to edit their shopping list as needed, while the prepaid account automatically debits the total amount once shopping is complete. RFID technology will enable customers to quickly and accurately locate products, as well as ensure accurate pricing and weight calculation of purchased items. This research will primarily use the ESP8266 Microcontroller and RFID technology. The ESP8266 Microcontroller will be used as the central processing unit for the smart cart and RFID technology will be used to uniquely identify products. RFID tags will be attached to products and read by the RFID reader, which will transmit the data to the ESP8266 Microcontroller. The ESP8266 will then store the information in its on-board EEPROM memory for later retrieval. The server will also have a database that stores product information and location information, with the location information as an attribute. The server will also have an API that communicates with the NoobTron Shopping App and the smart cart. This API will enable customers to use the NoobTron Shopping App to keep track of their purchases and edit their shopping list, while also allowing the smart cart to communicate with the server to update the server with the status of the purchase. The research will also use switches on the smart cart to let the server know when the shopping is complete, and the server will automatically debit the prepaid account.

Fig.2 Proposed NoobTron Shopping Cart App

The proposed applicationrecords every single product scanning, qty of products, cost, expiry and manufacturing dates of the product, this enable the user to purchase the good products and accelerate the good practice of purchases. Once the purchase gets completed the total amount of the entire purchase will automatically gets generated and process for E-mode of transaction or wireless card swipig in shopping trolley.

The motor control section of the smart trolley uses IR sensors to detect the IR transmitter that the customer will have in hand, allowing the trolley’s left and right wheel to move appropriately. Obstacle detection is also performed via IR sensors, which cause the trolley’s left and right tyres to stop if the distance between the trolley and an obstacle is less than 25 cm. In the billing section, the total amount is initialized to zero when purchasing begins. The RFID reader detects the code of the product and adds the item, size, weight, price, etc. to the total value. Customers can press a done key to indicate that their shopping is complete, and they will be prompted for their SSC, which is also an RFID-based card. The customer will be asked to enter the password for the SSC or be notified that the card is not present. If the password is correct, the total amount in the shopping card will be reduced by the amount of the purchase, and if the password is incorrect, a message will be displayed noting the absence of the card.

Fig.3 Proposed Design Architecture of Smart Shopping Cart

RESULTS

This Paper proposed an intelligent shopping trolley that utilizes RFID scanners to enable customers to quickly and conveniently checkout for their goods. The aim of this research is to provide shoppers with a seamless shopping experience that reduces the time spent at the billing counter in supermarkets, ultimately improving their overall customer experience. The trolley is equipped with ESP8266 microcontroller, an RFID tag, an RFID scanner, a Wi-Fi module, and an electronic display. The RFID tag can be read by the RFID scanner to determine the item, size, weight, price, and other relevant information. This information is then displayed on the LCD panel on the trolley, allowing customers to easily review the details of the product they are purchasing. After completing their shopping, customers can simply press a button on the trolley to upload their bill to the counter section through Wi-Fi communication. A Wi-Fi receiver on the counter will receive this bill number and send it to a computer running Hyper Terminal. The customer can then pay for their goods and exit the store, having experienced a significantly streamlined checkout process. In addition to providing more convenience for shoppers, the use of RFID technology in the smart trolley will also save time and resources for retailers by reducing the need for manual labor and streamlined processes. It will also help reduce error rates, as the automatic identification of items will minimize the chances of mislabeling or scanning errors. During the design and development stages of the research, we will conduct rigorous testing of each component to ensure that they function correctly and can be integrated seamlessly into the smart trolley. This will allow us to ensure that the technology is robust and reliable, and that it can be implemented in a wide range of retail environments. Overall, the aim of this research is to create an innovative solution that not only improves the shopping experience for customers but also streamlines the checkout process for retailers. By utilizing RFID technology to enable quick and efficient self-checkout, we hope to reduce customer wait times and increase overall store efficiency.

To enable quick and efficient checkout at retail outlets, our proposed design for an intelligent shopping trolley includes the following components:

RFID tags:These are passive tags that can be easily read by RFID readers. The tags have a lower cost compared to active tags.

RFID reader:The trolley is equipped with an RFID reader that can identify an article when the tag makes contact with its coverage range. The reader is connected to the controller, which can perform data modulation and demodulation of signals.

16×2 LCD display:The trolley is equipped with an LCD display that can display a multitude of alphanumeric characters and graphics on its screen. It is connected to the I/O port of ATMEGA328P chip and can display information in real time.

Wi-Fi module:The RFID data from the trolley is sent to a PC through a Wi-Fi module. The data is transferred via serial communication from the Wi-Fi receiver to the ESP8266 Wi-Fi module when a button is pressed on the trolley.

Each of these components plays a critical role in enabling a seamless checkout experience for shoppers at retail outlets. The use of RFID technology reduces the need for manual labor, streamlines processes, and minimizes the chances of errors. This not only improves the shopping experience for customers but also increases the efficiency of the retail outlet. The lower cost of passive tags compared to active tags makes the solution more affordable and accessible to a wider range of customers. Overall, the aim of this design is to create an innovative solution that not only improves the shopping experience for customers but also streamlines the checkout process for retailers.

The time taken for scanning the stationary and processing for billing through billing software were calculated, it was found there are few time lag to get entries in cart. The lag happens due to large volume of clients usage of network in same time, due to billing values, due to poor connectivity zone and due to any product issue. The threshold of time-lag have been observed during this study and provided the record below as shown in table.1:

Table:1 Stationary Items Vs. Time lag

CONCLUSION

The designed Smart Trolley System using IOT has several advantages including the elimination of the need for customers to wait in queue lines and wait for their turn to scan their product items. This can prove useful during weekends or holiday times when there is typically a huge crowd. The system allows customers to do billing directly through an application and even at the billing counter, thus saving time and reducing the risk of errors on billing. Supermarkets and shopping malls can leverage this concept to attract more customers and make the shopping experience more effortless for them. The system is equipped with an ESP8266 module, an RFID prepaid card, a Wi-Fi module, and a mobile Noobtron shopping cart application that provides an autonomous shopping cart. This feature allows the customers to scan the barcode of the product using the cart and get the information about the item, including its expiry date, manufacturing date, and whether or not it is the original product. This also enables real-time billing via the Wi-Fi module, ensuring that customers can pay for their purchases on time and with accuracy. In summary, the designed Smart Trolley System not only enhances the shopping experience for customers but also improves the operational efficiency of supermarkets and shopping malls. The autonomous shopping cart provides a seamless and effortless shopping experience for customers, and the on-time billing feature ensures that they can pay for their purchases without having to wait in line. This concept has the potential to attract more customers and increase footfall in the retail space, making it a worthy investment for businesses operating in.

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