Smart Shopping Cart

Group 5

December 4, 2007

Advisor: Professor Haibo He

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Group Members:
Norasyikin Fadilah
Siti Fatimah Ahmad
Anirudh Argawal
Rajwinder Singh
Katherine Casella

I pledge my honor that I have abided by the Stevens Honor

System
 Table of Contents
I. Abstract...............................................................................................................2

II. Project Final Design Plan....................................................................................3

II-1. Introduction.............................................................................................3
II-2. Design Requirements..............................................................................5
II-3. System Design.........................................................................................6
II-3A. Parts List……….…………………………………………….10
II-4. Financial Budget.....................................................................................10
II-5 Project Schedule...……………………………………………………...12

III. Summary.............................................................................................................13

IV. References…………….………………………………………………………..13

V. Appendices

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I. Abstract

In today’s technology, many companies are developing products that ensure

convenience towards all people. One of the conveniences that are involved will be
providing them with a new and easy shopping experience. With the problem of waiting in
a long queue to checking-out the shopping items, new technologies must be implemented
to provide the lowest delay time. Thus, the project team is developing a Smart Shopping
Cart, a system that allows faster check-out. The user would scan the Universal Product
Code (UPC) that is on the shopping item using the barcode reader. The barcode
information will be stored into a computer’s memory, and checked against a database
from which it would retrieve the appropriate information. A software package will link
up the device with the database and Bluetooth device. It will also enable the
microprocessor to calculate the total price for all scanned items, and display it on the
LCD screen. If the customer is ready to make a payment, he would pass the cart through
the cashier. The total price will be sent to the cashier using Bluetooth, and the receipt will
be automatically printed. All the customer has to do is to pay for the total price without
unloading the items from the cart. The team expects that the smart shopping cart will be a
more reliable form of check-out process that will decrease the amount of time a customer
has to wait while shopping.
The team’s prototype unit consists of a barcode scanner, a PDA to act as a user
interface, and a laptop computer that stores the database, and acts as a check out counter.
In the system, WiFi will be used to connect the PDA and the database, while Bluetooth
will be used to connect the PDA with the check out counter.

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II. Project Final Design Plan

II-1 Introduction

What is the smart shopping cart? If you haven't already heard of the smart
shopping cart, you are missing out. This technology began sweeping the nation after its
debut on the Today Show in July of 2004. Prominent companies such as IBM, NCR,
Fujitsu, and Hewlett-Packard have recently invested in this industry. The concept of a
smart shopping cart utilizes a small computer integrated with a commercial retail
shopping cart. The technology features a convenient dispay (usually a touch screen) that
interfaces with existing Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode system. The onboard
computer is wirelessly linked to a central database operated and updated by the system
owner that provides real-time product information to the consumer. The customer can
scan their items while they shop using the computer attached to the cart. The items are
then aggregated to a list that tallies how much the user is expected to spend while they
are shopping. In addition to price, many products will provide extra information about the
scanned items such as nutritional information, environment impact, calories bought,
discounts and sales, recipe ideas, and other matching items such as wines and cheeses.
The newest product from IBM is a wireless web page application where the customer
can create a shopping list from home on the internet. Then at the store scan their frequent
shoppers' card in the smart shopping cart to see their list. The list interacts with the store
telling the customer where they can find the items they are looking for as well as the best
prices. On top of that, the customer can order from the deli using their shopping cart and
just pick up their order when it's done. In one Stop & Shop in Massachusetts, they use
projection technologies to project an image either on the floor or over some products.
When the customer walks over a part of the image it interacts with them. One example is
a floor projection where there are three blocks of colors with the options reading, Low
Calorie, Low Carb, and Low Fat. All the customer has to do is step over the option they
want and it will point an arrow to where the products in that area are located. One major
technology not yet used in stores is the RFID cards. However, use of this technology is

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very costly and complicated to program if the store has a lot of items, as grocery stores
do.
Currently, deficiencies exist within the smart shopping cart design. Most
computers attached to the handle bar of the shopping cart are cumbersome to the
consumer. The consumer cannot utilize the front basket to seat a child or place delicate
products. Another problem is the scanning of large products. With the existing models,
the consumer must lift the items to be scanned up to the computer. This is not an issue for
smaller products but awkward and heavier products present difficulties in the scanning
process for disabled, feeble, and elderly consumers. Finally, most of these devices lack a
method by which the information about the items in the cart is transferred to the checkout
counter. In other words, the data displayed on the customer selected items is only
accessible to the customer. When the consumer reaches the checkout line, the cashier
needs to rescan all the items in order for the consumer to pay.
The group intends to make a Smart Shopping Cart device which will optimizes the
basic function of scanning items using barcodes into a database where they can then
create a tally of the items bought and send it wirelessly to the checkout counter. When the
customer is finished shopping they can pay faster because their items are already
recorded. The new technologies that the group is intending to use are as follows: A
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) will replace the shopping cart's computer. This will be
much smaller and ergonomic than existing computers, making it a sleek and space saving
design. The group will also use a wireless bluetooth barcode scanner so the customer can
scan larger items without having to lift them. The design will also use bluetooth
technology to send the billing information to the checkout counter when the customer is
finished shopping.
To prevent non-scanned items from being taken without payment, the group intends
to design antitheft measures. Some preliminary concepts include a laser-induced grid
over the main basket which counts the number of items added and a weight sensor
located under the main basket that would be able to tell if the weight scanned matches the
weight in the basket.

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II-2 Design Requirements

In order to accomplish this project, the design requirement has to be considered to

make sure that the smart shopping cart will be able to fulfill all the specifications and
objectives that have been set up at the first place.
There will be a main database that has all the necessary information about all the
inventories in the stores such as the description of the products, prices, quantity, and the
barcode of the items. The main database will be updated every time a product is scanned
and would be able to handle all the information from multiple carts in the stores. The
database is designed using MySQL because of its consistent fast performance, high
reliability and ease of use. The server for this project will be a Dell Precision M60
notebook computer. Moreover, the database should also be very flexible so that if there is
any change in the data, it could be easily modified without any problem.
For the smart shopping cart to be more practical in processing the information, a
fast and efficient networking should implemented between the main database and each of
the smart shopping cart in the store. The team chooses to use WLAN for the wireless
networking between the main database and the shopping carts in the stores since Wi-fi is
easy to set up and inexpensive. Ideally, each time the product is scanned, the system
would immediately respond by providing the customers with the product information
displayed on the LCD screen mounted on the shopping cart and also updated the database
system at the same time. However, in real practice, this may have some problem
considering that as the numbers of carts in used increase, the main database will need
more time to respond to each of the shopping cart. Therefore, the team might consider
using network with high bandwidth to support the data traffic.
Moreover, the hardware will be interfaced using the C or C++ programming
language because it is easy to implement and very fast to execute. These are essential to
make the interaction between the software and hardware to be smooth and fast and also to
avoid traffic in data transfer. Choosing the right software to be used in the project might
be the most important part in the project. Several softwares dealing with barcodes are
available in the market to be used. However, the team need to make sure that the software

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is compatible with Microsoft Window Mobile 5.0 because iPAQ Pocket PC will be used
to execute all the scanned items before it is send to the main database.
For the convenience of the customers, the display screen mounted on the
shopping cart need to be user friendly and position in the place that provide easy access
for the customers. The screen is also need to be light weight, not too big, durable and
indestructible although it is used repetitively. Touch screen is the most suitable
considering that the customers can use it easily. However, the team needed to design hard
and very durable casing to protect the screen from any reckless users.

II-3 System Design

The design of smart shopping cart consisted of four main elements which are
hardware integration, software interface, wireless communication and network database.
The goal for each element is to get the most accurate and best performance to be
implemented in the project.
There are two different designs that can be used to accomplish the goal of this
project. The two designs are similar with the exception of the main computer being used.
Our group spent a lot of time researching on both designs before choosing any one design
for this project. The two designs that meet the requirements of this project are described
in details below.

Design 1

This design includes a microprocessor which can be used with an LCD, a wireless
card, barcode reader, and a portable battery. The barcode reader will be used to scan the
items, and the Wi-Fi card will be used to connect wirelessly to the store’s database. The
device will be detachable, so that it can be used from one shopping cart to another. This
design also includes external speakers which will guide the customer with voice prompt
to select their option on the LCD screen. The design is illustrated in the figure 1 below.

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Figure 1: Design one using Microcomputer

Design 2

This design follows the same concept of design one except it has a PDA instead
of LCD screen and microprocessor. In this design, a PDA will be used which includes
both the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities. Bluetooth technology of PDA will be used to
connect to barcode readers which can wirelessly submit the barcode data to the PDA.

Figure 2: Design two using PDA

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 This gives the customers the freedom to move away from the shopping cart and
scan the item. The same Bluetooth capabilities will be used to connect to the checkout
counters where the customers can pay by credit card or cash. The Wi-Fi capabilities of
PDA will be used to connect to the wireless database of the store. The following diagram
illustrates how this design would look like in a store.
After analyzing both designs carefully, the group decided to select design 2 for
this project. There were many reasons to pick design 2 over design 1. One of the main
reasons was that the design one was not feasible. It involves microprocessor and LCD
screen which involves high level of programming, and no one in the group has the
experience with such advance programming. The second reason for not going with design
one is the cost. It would have been really expensive to buy a microprocessor, LCD, a
separate wireless card and Bluetooth card. The second design integrates all these
technologies into one PDA. Since one of the group members already had a PDA, the
group decided to go with the second design. This design not only cut down the cost for
this project, but also makes more sense since the PDA has all the functionalities which
are required to complete this project. The following figure illustrates how the project will
be presented during senior design presentation in May 2008.

As shown in the diagram above, a Bluetooth enabled laptop will act as a checkout
counter for the project. Our goal is to transmit the data via Bluetooth from PDA to the
laptop. A Bluetooth barcode scanner will be used to scan the barcode and transmit the

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data to the PDA’s software, which then can wirelessly connect to the database (wireless
notebook in this project) and receive the price and other information regarding the item.

Software and Database Details

All the components will be interface using the C++ programming language
because it is easy to implement and very fast to execute. These are essential to make the
interaction between the software and hardware to be smooth and fast and also to avoid
traffic in data transfer.
The network will use Wi-Fi wireless networking system to transmit sale
information to the database. Wi-Fi is chosen because it is easy to set up and is
inexpensive. Every time the customers scanned the product, the product information will
be retrieve from the database and the price will be displayed on the LCD display mounted
on the shopping card. The data from the shopping card will be transmitted to the check
out counter by using Bluetooth technology. The customers can easily transmit the data
from the shopping cart to the check-out terminal when they are in the proximate range.
The database software that will be used in this project will be MySQL. MySQL
has the capabilities to execute database entries. This is most important part of the project
since we need a good and most reliable database to keep track and update the inventories
every time the customers scanned the product.

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II-3A Parts List

1.Barcode Reader
Model: EZ One Shot® USB CCD Barcode Scanner By IDTech
Operating Power: +5 VDC ± 5%
Power Consumption: 85 mA ± 10 mA

2. PDA
Model: HP iPAQ hx2495 Pocket PC
Processor: Intel PXA 270 processor 520MHz
Operating System: Genuine Windows Mobile 5.0 Software for Pocket PC, Premium
Edition
Power Supply: 1440 mAh Lithium-Ion battery

3. Computer
Model: Dell Precision M60
Processor: Intel Pentium M processor 2.00GHz
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2

II-4 Financial Budget

The financial budget is one of the most important aspects of any project. It
determines whether a project can progress or even start at all. Thus, having an accurate
financial budget and a plan to stay within the budget is quite essential for any new
project. In our design project case, this is even more so because our team is venturing on
a new product and unexpected costs might come up as the project progresses.
The proposed financial budget for the midterm report has definitely changed as
expected by all our team members. The products have been altered a little bit and their
respective prices have also changed. We have decided to find the cheapest alternatives for
all the products in order to keep the expenditure below the allocated amount of $250. As
we have experienced that additional expenses might occur, we are keeping an amount
unused for those unforeseen circumstances.

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 There are a few costs that we need to consider. Since our requirements have
changed a little, we no longer require a microprocessor or a LCD screen. Also, the USB
cable will not be needed if we use Bluetooth technology for connectivity. We added some
testing products that we will need to buy. Also some material might be needed to form
the casing for the entire product. Most importantly, we will require a bar code reader,
preferably one which has Bluetooth capabilities.
The unused budget will be helpful in deciding how much extra effort we can put in the
project. For example, the group is thinking of implementing a laser anti-theft system
which will only happen if everything else works fine.
1) Barcode Reader: EZ One Shot® USB CCD Barcode Scanner By IDTech
This is a fairly cheap barcode reader priced at $59.
Reference: http://www.idautomation.com/ccdreaders/idtech.html
USB Cable: Belkin Pro Series USB 2.0 Device Cable (USB A/USB B, 10 Feet)
Priced at $8.55
Reference: http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Pro-Device-Cable-Feet/dp/B00004Z5M1
2) Bluetooth barcode reader: Bluetooth barcode scanner kit, MS 9535 BT scanner
USB
This is the cheapest Bluetooth barcode reader which wouldn’t require a cable.
Price = $149.99
Reference: http://cgi.ebay.com/Bluetooth-barcode-scanner-kit-MS-9535-BT-scanner-
USB_W0QQitemZ160184897317QQihZ006QQcategoryZ14929QQssPageNameZWDV
WQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

3) Testing: Items from a grocery store (some multiples too). Price would be around
$30.
Reference:
http://shop.mywebgrocer.com/shop.aspx?&sid=18778498&sid_guid=a67af57a-4dc1-
4657-872d-db41599107ff&strid=F442733&catL0=570&catL1=-1&catL2=-1&catL3=-
1&HasProducts=0&ns=1

4) Casing: Metals like aluminum and tools like a hammer, nails, etc.
All this will cost approximately $100.
Reference: http://www.metalsdepot.com/

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 Thus, with the Bluetooth barcode reader, the project would cost around $280 ($30
over budget) and with a normal barcode reader, ($197.55, which is $52.45 under budget).
Even though the second option is financially more feasible, the team might go with the
Bluetooth option to keep up with the technology. These figures could change about 25%
either way at the end of the project.

II-5 Project Schedule

The following Gantt Chart represents the schedule for next semester. The main
tasks will consist of creating the database, writing the C++ program, and configuring the
wireless network. The team decided that all members will be involved in each task;
however, each individual member will be in charge of one or two main task(s).

Gantt Chart

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III. Summary

Technology is meant to make one’s life easier. When a problem is found, engineers
come together to solve them using technology. This problem solving will advance the
technology for the human being, and thus provide them with convenience. The project
was designed to accomplish this. The smart shopping cart could eliminate the hindrance
of unloading the items from the cart; therefore, the time spent at the cashier could be
decreased. Shoppers could enjoy the time saved by doing other things rather than
standing idle and having to wait for their turn to pay.
Group 5 will implement the prototype of the smart shopping cart using the
following components: barcode scanner, PDA as the user interface, and laptop as the
database center and check out counter. The PDA and the barcode scanner are the devices
that would be implemented on the shopping cart. It is crucial that the PDA has both WiFi
and Bluetooth work, so that the project performs as the team expects it to. Therefore, it is
important that the team works together next semester to implement a successful
prototype.

IV. References

1. http://www.waspbarcode.com/software/
2. http://www.bluetooth.com/bluetooth/
3. http://www-uxsup.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/doc/suse/suse9.2/suselinux-
adminguide_en/ch17s03.html
4. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1765476,00.asp

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