Smart Trolley System

A report on system design and viability

A shopping trolley which manages to go way past the customer’s expectations by providing
a plethora of additional and futuristic features and attempts to make shopping at your local
supermarket a lot simpler and easier
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Technical Report Report No.1

VIVEKANAND EDUCATION SOCIETY’S

INSTITUTE OF TEHCNOLOGY
CHEMBUR, MUMBAI-400074

Smart Trolley

September 18, 2018

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Report No.1

VIVEKANAD EDUCATION SOCIETY’S

INSTITUTE OF TEHCNOLOGY
CHEMBUR, MUMBAI-400074

A report on

Smart Trolley
Submitted by

D11-B ETRX (GROUP-7)

Dhiraj Doda (13)

Prathamesh Khandekar (29)
Arvind Kushwaha (35)
Pronoy Mandal (39)
Avisha Nagarkar (42)
Abin Nair (45)
Devyani Pawar (51)
R Jane Susan (52)

Approved by,
Prof. Pooja Kundu

September 18, 2018

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2018 D11-B ETRX GROUP-7

All Rights Reserved. This is to certify that no material, text or pictorial data from this
publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form by any means without
an appropriate permission from the publishers. Use of any concept, material or idea mentioned
in this publication without prior notice to the publishers is an offensive crime.

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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

September 18, 2018

Respected Madam,

This report on a Smart Trolley project provides a brief idea about a futuristic smart trolley
system along with its structure and technology used. It also discusses the current scenario
regarding the conventional trolley used in the supermarkets, their drawbacks and the use of
Smart Trolley to overcome the same.

Use of Smart Trolley for commercial purposes will not only eliminate the inconvenience faced
by the customers while shopping, but will also make an impact on the scientific world as a
landmark invention.

To conclude, we as a team aim to make our lives easy and advanced in terms of technology
by this project.

Yours sincerely,

Pronoy Mandal

(Project Manager)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The implementation of our Smart Trolley concept, into a real product would not have been
possible without a proper guidance and support from the faculty members. We would like to
express our gratitude to Prof. Pooja Kundu who directed us throughout the duration of course
and helped us in developing the idea of this Smart Trolley. Working under her guidance has
helped all of us in being a better team member day by day.

We would like to appreciate the entire ETRX department, faculty members, senior students
and colleagues for the immense support and timely assistance. Special thanks to The
Tinkerer’s Lab, ETRX for their guidance regarding technical problems.

We would also like to thank all the non-teaching staff and lab assistants for letting us use the
laboratories and instruments for development of this project.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ....................................................................... 1

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... 2

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 3

METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 4

ANALYSIS .................................................................................................... 8

SMART TROLLEY DESIGN AND USER INTERFACE ........................................... 8

CONNECTING TO THE STORE DATABASE ...................................................... 11

WIRELESS ACCESS ...................................................................................... 12

NETWORKING .............................................................................................. 12

WIRELESS ACCESS ...................................................................................... 12

SECURITY MEASURES AGAINST DISCREPANCIES

OR DISHONEST ACTIVITIES ........................................................................... 14

SCANNING PRODUCTS .................................................................................. 15

POWER ......................................................................................................... 16

PRODUCT AND MARKET DESCRIPTION .......................................................... 17

TEC-ALGORITHM WORKSHEETS DISCUSSION ................................................ 19

Phase 1: Functional Assessment ............................................................. 19

Phase 2: Strategic Assessment ................................................................ 20

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RESULTS AND FAQS ............................................................................... 21

CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................... 25

RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................... 27

APPENDIX .................................................................................................. 28

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 30

GLOSSARY ................................................................................................ 31

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1. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Illustration
Page No.
QR Scanner
4
RFID Tags and RFID Reader
5
Arduino MKR1000
5
Buzzer
5
20 x 4 LCD display
6
Camera Module
6
Motor system
7
Smart Trolley Design
9
User Interface Design
10
Multi hop Wireless Sensor Network Architecture
13

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2. ABSTRACT
A supermarket or a hypermarket is a form where wide variety of product items is available.
These product items can be food, beverages or any household product. The main purpose of
supermarkets is to provide availability of all the products and save the time of the customers
but sometimes customer gets frustrated while waiting in the queue at billing counter and
sometimes they get confused while comparing the total price of all the products with the budget
in the pocket before billing. To overcome these problems, we have designed a smart trolley.
With this system, there is no need for customer to wait in the queue for the scanning for the
product items for billing purpose. Supermarkets or Hypermarkets provide this faculty to only
those customers which having membership cards. When the customer inserts the membership
card in the basket or trolley only then it will work as a smart trolley. Otherwise, it will work as a
normal trolley. Supermarkets and hypermarkets use this technique as a strategy to increase the
number of customers.

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3. INTRODUCTION
A shopping cart or trolley, also known by a variety of other names, is a cart supplied by a shop,
especially supermarkets, for use by customers inside the shop for transport of merchandise to
the checkout counter during shopping. In many cases customers can then also use the cart to
transport their purchased goods to their vehicles, but some carts are designed to prevent them
from leaving the shop. The Smart Trolley idea is based on the most popular automated self-
checkout system in most of UK retail stores. The concept is designed into a smaller version of
the automated self-checkout system on a shopping trolley with a user interface screen which
allows customers to make payment for items scanned and placed in the trolley before leaving
the entrance of the store. This is to release pressure at the tills during peak hours.

The Smart Trolley comes with all the traditional services including scanning an item to check for
price and details, also there are other additional features that will be included in the design such
as locating an item in the store by typing in the item’s name in the search field on the user
interface screen which will automatically show the item’s location in the store. The Smart
Trolley is designed with security measures to prevent it being wheeled out from the store’s
premises and also to protect customer’s card details as it is designed to accept only card
payment for items bought in the store.

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4. METHODOLOGY
General overview of components of the model

QR Scanner: Customer’s Smartphone acts as the QR scanner. A QR is used to encode information

in a visual pattern readable by the machine. Customers have a mobile application on their
smartphone. A number of white and black colour zebra strips are there on the QR. Whenever
smartphone camera gets nearer to the bar code, it will decode the code of the QR and the code
will accept by Arduino Uno through Bluetooth Module. Each QR has a unique identity and gives
total information about the product related data. It is easy to generate QR and they are cheaper
as compare to RFID tags.

RFID Tags and RFID Reader: The Smart Trolley can be used by those customers who are having
the membership card. In general, RFID Tag is attaching with membership card. RFID Reader is
attached to the trolley. Whenever a customer put RFID Tag near to RFID Reader, RFID Reader
detects the RFID Tag and trolley act as Smart Trolley. All this process going to works using radio
frequency.

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Arduino MKR1000: It is a powerful board that combines the functionality of the Zero and the
Wi-Fi Shield. It is the ideal solution for makers wanting to design IoT projects with minimal
previous experience in networking. Arduino MKR1000 has been designed to offer a practical and
cost effective solution for makers seeking to add Wi-Fi connectivity to their projects with
minimal previous experience in networking. It is based on the Atmel ATSAMW25 SoC (System
on Chip), that is part of the SmartConnect family of Atmel Wireless devices, specifically designed
for IoT projects and devices.

Buzzer: A buzzer or beeper is an audio signaling device, which may be mechanical,

electromechanical, or piezoelectric (piezo for short). Typical uses of buzzers and beepers include
alarm devices, timers, and confirmation of user input such as a mouse click or keystroke.

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20 x 4 LCD display: A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat display which is used to display the
description of the product. 20 x 4 means we can display total 20 characters at any instance of
time and we have total 4 rows and in each row, we can represent 20 characters. We display
the product item’s name and price on the LCD. The LCD is attached to the trolley.

Camera Module: A camera module is an image sensor integrated with a lens, control electronics,
and an interface like CSI, Ethernet or plain raw low-voltage differential signaling.

Motor System: An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical

energy into mechanical energy. The motor driver is used to drive the motor in this project. By
controlling the PWM speed, the motor speed can be controlled. It is designed to drive a medium
to high powered brushed DC motor.

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Its current capacity is up to 80 Amperes for 1 second when at its peak, although it has a
continuous capacity of 30 A. Its PWM generator enables it to operate without a host
controller. This motor driver has bidirectional control for 1 brushed DC motor and the
voltage of the motor is 5V to 25 V.

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5. ANALYSIS
The Smart Trolley design consists of the following components. Each component was allocated
to different team member to research and submit the required design criteria.

1. Smart Trolley design and user interface

2. Connection to the store database
3. Wireless access
4. Network
5. Scanning product
6. Power
7. Payment methods and generation of receipt

5.1 Smart Trolley design and user interface

The Smart Trolley inevitably will require very good and flexible design that will attract the client to
use the product. The first question during the group discussion before the design was “Who are the
users, where it will be used and the space the trolley to be placed”. The answer is the supermarkets
and the users will be anyone using the product in the store; however, the space for the trolley will
be decided by the store owner. Basically, the trolley play and remain an integral part of the customers’
shopping experience and businesses who uses them should ensure that the design meet the
requirement of the customers.

● The Smart Trolley should be easy to move around.

● Each Smart Trolley should be fitted with security tracking device to stop people taking it out
of the retailer’s premises.
● It should be used only for card payments.
● It should be fitted with a Barcode Scanner and a screen device to display all the scanned
product and prices with “help” button that can be pressed for any kind of help
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● The display should be user friendly, touch screen, easy to use, fitted to the trolley and has
dynamic low power saving mode and Wireless enabled.
● The smart device should be able to link or connect with store database for product search
and item browsing.
● The trolley should be designed with four wheels, a break and easy to handle or steering.
● After shopping the device has the capability to send a receipt via text message or email if
needed by proving your number or email address.
● Requires power supply for all attached devices.
To achieve the desired functionality for this product, multiple input and applications are
needed, such as network connection (Wireless, database, security, payment method, etc.)
Collectively, in the initial stages of the design, it was decided to design a trolley with four wheels
and breaking facility to create stability when pushing the trolley and avoid collision. A full
description of the proposed Smart Trolley is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 The Smart Trolley design

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The components of the Smart Trolley design are:

● Object Sensor: Helps to detect closer object to avoid collision.

● Touch Screen Shopping Smart Tablet: Assist you for shopping.
● Tracking device: Synchronize with the store security system to avoid any kind of theft. This
will aloes let you know if an item has not been scanned by a beeping smooth sound.
● Hand Break facility: For stopping the trolley by applying the brakes.
● Product scanner: Used for scanning products.
● Wheel: Helps to roll/push the trolley.
● Portable device power supply: Provide electrical energy to Smart Trolley.
The benefit of this product is to make shopping much easy, flexible and time saving. The Smart
Trolley will be design with a tablet screen and a till application. Figure 2 illustrates the user
interface design to be implemented on the Smart Trolley.

Figure 2 User Interface Design

Description:

1. Panel screen for the scanned items and prices.

2. Panel to display the searched item.
3. Store shelves map, helps to find item location.
4. Help button provides user guidance about using the trolley.

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5. Search bar for searching any item located in the store.
6. Keyboard for typing.
7. Pay button to activate payment function. Only card payment is supported for security
reasons.

5.2 Connecting to the Store Database

Database connection is the process by which client software communicate with a database server.
The software uses the database connection to send requests and get replies from the database
server. The database holds information that can be queried by the client software. For the
purpose of this design, the client software is the application installed on the tablet which is
connected to the store local database or the company centralized database.

It contains product information, location, availability and pricing. Connection to the database is
user friendly with a simple interacting interface. Customers will be able to search for products
local to the store and if it’s not available in the store, provides information of the nearest store
that has it. The product location (that is aisle and shelf number) can also be displayed on the
screen of the tablet on the Smart Trolley and advice on the quantity available in the store.

The present design allows the tills and self-service checkout to have direct access to the store
database because they are all directly connected to the network with the database server. However,
the self-service checkout only allow customer to pay for items. The tablets on the Smart Trolley will
also operate in similar way through wireless access. All the Smart Trolleys will be directly and
securely connected to the server Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN). It has access to the store and
online access to the company centralized database. The application for the tablet will be designed
to work similarly as the application installed on the self-service checkouts. However, the design will
have more features for user interaction such as locating products within the store and access to the
company centralised database to let the customers have access to products from other stores. This
will allow customers to have the opportunity to place or hold an item from other store that is not

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available at the local store. Other features include PayPal payment which allows customers to use
their PayPal account to pay for items. This feature will require internet on the device, however for
security reason no browsing capability is enabled on the device except access to the company
website.

The design requirement includes:

 Access to the company Local Area Network (LAN) over Wi-Fi. The devices must be in a
secure WLAN to protect the company from any intruder or hackers.
 Designing and installing a modified till application on each tablet.
 Update the existing database.
 Connection to the database. This is a set of programing instructions that enables the
application on the tablet to access the database server.
 Permissions to access both local and centralised database in the company domain.
 Permissions to access resources on the network just as the tills or self-service check-out.

5.3 Wireless Access

Wireless access provides connection for the tablet to connect to the store LAN and access resources.
Each tablet has Wi-Fi capability. The devices will be place in a separate subnet, but have direct access
to resources just like the tills and self-service check-out. For security reasons the Service Set
Identifier (SSID) or wireless network name for the Wi-Fi should not be broadcasted in order to
prevent hackers to have access to the store LAN. Also the Wi-Fi only accepts connection to devices
whose MAC address has been permitted through the firewall. This is added manually. Device can
also connect to the internet; however, browsing is restricted for product search from the company
website and online payments.

5.4 Networking
The technique for networking in Smart Trolley should have fast speed, reliability, cost effective,
minimum energy usage and communication with other trolleys and also to the base station of the
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shopping center in order to ensure efficient customer service and also able to deal with any
discrepancy or dishonest activity at the customer side.

Figure 3 Multi hop Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) architecture

Networks (WSN), which is advancing in today’s communication field with a very high pace having
suitability in the wide range of applications. It has numerous small, cost effective and low powered
autonomous devices known as sensor motes. These nodes can be simple or complex and deals with
environment sensing perform computing and wirelessly communicate with other devices of the
network and self-arrange them after deployment in ad hoc fashion. Each node has the processing
capability and has the following components:

 One or more microcontrollers

 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
 DSP (Digital Signal Processing) chips
 Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver (mostly with a single omnidirectional Antenna)
 May contain multiple types of memory (program, data and flash memory)

By using WSN in Smart Trolleys wireless communication between nodes or other trolleys reduces
processing to great extent as all the processing is done in individual trolley instead of sending
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packets or data to other trolley. Each customer is identified in the store premises with a unique ID
of the trolley, picked up for shopping purpose. At payment counter there is a base station, has
database for keeping all information about products and sensor mote. It has a gateway node as
shown in Figure 3 that can communicate with all Smart Trolleys in the store.

There is a tablet fixed on each Smart Trolley and it is assigned with an IP address and Wi-Fi access
of the store whose purpose is to help customers for finding products by browsing store’s website
and their location as well. If in a case that product is not available in the store, the device will indicate
the nearest branch of the store which has that specific product. When customer buys a product and
scans it and placed the product in the trolley, its barcode is send through sensor mote to the base
station wirelessly by using IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee Protocol) over ZigBee Network. ZigBee is selected
with sensor motes that are also compatible with IEEE802.15.4. Moreover, ZigBee can transfer data
to longer distances by passing the data over the underlying mesh network of WSN with low power
consumption up to the distance of 10 to 100 meters’ line of sight or more depending upon the
environmental conditions and size of the network. Mostly ZigBee defines the data rate of 25Kbps
intermittent data transmissions from sensors. So, after sending information the base station replies
with the description of the product. It also provides location indication by defining row and shelves
number on the tablet of Smart Trolley as mentioned in designed part. Now the process moves to
the payment procedure.

5.5 Security measures against discrepancies or dishonest activities

Beside many other functions, Smart Trolley ensures security measures by considering special cases
and giving its solutions. These cases are mentioned below:

 A customer forgets to keep a product into the trolley after scanning it.
 A customer scans one product but place multiple products in the trolley.
 A customer attempts to take away products in the trolley without scanning them.
 A customer changes mind and remove the product from the trolley.
 A customer scans a cheaper product and places the expensive product having same weight.
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The design of the product carefully considers all these cases, which are mentioned above. Basically to
ensure automation of the system, the scanner is connected to the base station located at the payment
counter. When a customer scans a product all the information such as price and name of the product
is displayed while the weight of the product is also stored in the database against all barcodes. Weight
of products is an important factor to double check the identity of product to protect against
discrepancy or dishonest activity. A load cell, which is basically a weight sensor, is located at the
bottom of the Smart Trolley. The output of the load cell helps in decision making against abnormal
activities. For example, if the weight of the product measured by the load cell is not matching with
the actual weight of the product then it is referred as a case of discrepancy at the base station. If any
customer after purchasing the product changes his mind and wants to return the product, he just has
to scan the product again, product picture will be taken to confirm intended product from the Smart
Trolley’s tablet. In a case where a customer may scan a cheaper product and places an expensive
product in the Smart Trolley, there is another important security measure to ensure the third level of
check. It is the placement of a small camera with a barcode for image processing. So when the product
is scanned a picture of the product is taken at the same time the customer's trolley ID and barcode
picture is sent to the base station through sensor mote by ZigBee packets having relevant information.

5.6 Scanning Products

The Smart Trolley will have an NFC technology installed that combines RFID (Radio frequency
identification) in scanner so that the sale items are scanned much faster and more efficiently with a
communication based on line - of -site (LOS) system. The combination of RFID and NFC system
enables to generate electromagnetic field for both transmitter and receivers, and also permits that
the detection between scanner and barcode can be registered by sending the information to
supermarket database and it is automatically displayed on Smart Trolley monitor. The scanner is
also well equipped with a system that enables customers to remove the product that was already
scanned without any problem. The customer can place the item already scanned on shelves again,
and continue shopping.

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5.7 Power
Power is the essential portion of Smart Trolley as it is equipped with a tablet which requires about 5
to 7 volts and a load cell which requires 9 volts. As the sensor nodes are very small devices they can
only be equipped with a limited power source of less than 0.5 to 2 ampere hour and 1.2 to 3.1 volts.
All these devices need to be powered by rechargeable power supply. A system is provided for
continuously recharging the power supply as the shopping trolley is propelled by the customer. The
system works in a way that the wheels of the Smart Trolley are linked to a potential energy storage
component, such as a coil spring. The spring is wound with each movement of the trolley, regardless
of the distance that the trolley travels. When the coil spring has been wound to a pre-determined
torque, the spring is released to drive an input to an electrical generator. Once the potential energy
in the spring has been dissipated the winding cycle begins again and due to consistent moving of the
trolley wheels provide power to the rechargeable devices.

5.8 Payment Methods and Receipt Generation

Payment method allows users to complete their purchases from the Smart Trolley. The present
payment system on the tills and self-service checkout allows for both card and cash payments,
however for security reasons and to deter theft, the propose system can only accept card payment.
This can be achieved in two ways: -

● Customers can enter their card details through the till service application and processed online.
● Using the wireless chip and PIN device on the Smart Trolley.

When customers finish shopping, the terminal of Smart Trolley will automatically send receipt via text
message or email to intended customer. For registered customers, it is not required to fill in personal
information such as email address and phone number every time, this will already be stored in the
store database.

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5.9 Product and market description
The market description presents a competitive analysis of the product market and its attributes.
The table worksheets below illustrate the full description of the Technology Product Market
(TPM) and the Product Attributes. These are aided to understand how the product will be made
and meet the needs of the intended users.

Table 1 Initial Technology Product Market (TPM)

Technology Description Product Idea Product Market

Smart Trolley An innovative way to make Supermarkets and Shopping

shopping easier, time saving centers

Capabilities of product: and secure User needs:

● Mobile self-checkout ● Time saving

system ● Easy product search
in store
● User interactive system
● Time saving ● Avoid long queues for
● Ensures security payments
● Customer can locate a
● Mobile shopping experience
desired product in the store

● Support Card payment

● Generate E-receipt

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Table 2 Product Attributes

Technology capabilities User needs Segment Product Feature

Smart Trolley connected to Description of Faster way of shopping

store database for product products
to attract customers
specifications

Customers
and Smart Trolley

Retailers

Self-scanning of products Skipping long Easy shopping

by customers queues for Procedure by smart

interface
payments

User interactive interface Making product Efficient product search

to attract customers Search quicker application

Card payment facility Secure way of Reduction of till loads,

payment E-receipt

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5.10 TEC – ALGORITHM WORKSHEETS DISCUSSION

5.10.A Phase 1: Functional Assessment

The functional assessment phase was well received based on feedback from both super stores
(retailers) and end users (consumers). This was due to the results obtained from the worksheets
when an idea exploration of the Smart Trolley’s functionalities was conducted. An attached copy of
the results can be found in the Appendix of this document. The Smart Trolley was legally analysed
to raise concerns about significant and composite issues surrounding copyrights and patent
legislation with the UK and International laws. As this technological invention requires the necessary
legal framework for any uncertainty about the product in the future. In the marketing aspect of this
project, the Smart Trolley required less amount of marketing as this was due to the fact that it is
new in the retail business and also there are no direct competition, but this will be reviewed as
required in the future. The Smart Trolley has gained much interest from retail gurus that have made
high projections about the number of Smart Trolley that will be needed by super stores in the UK
and perhaps across other parts of the world. However, influencing these retailers to buy our product
will be challenging due to cost of production, including technologies that will be used in the Smart
Trolley. The technological features of the Smart Trolley have been proven to be successful in other
products; therefore, this product has what it takes to succeed. These features will improve shopping
experience by a fast and easy method of shopping and making payment for items. This will
encourage lots of shoppers because they do not need to queue up to make payment of items. By
having such a retail machinery, end users will be increased which will result in high returns for the
super stores. The design of the Smart Trolley is capable to cope with any changes in the future. The
finance aspect is very important in any technology project. As the business stands, there is no access
to funding sources yet but will be seeking for potential investors. At the current stage of this project,
prototype to be developed will have to be self-funded. The product’s short-run and long-run cash
flow cannot be determined at this phase of the project.

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5.10.B Phase 2: Strategic Assessment

The strategic phase assessment was conducted and feedback received from both retailers and
consumers. The TEC algorithm worksheets used to collect information for this phase are
attached to the appendix section of this report. The Smart Trolley copyrights and patent was
legally analysed in phase 1 and it is for the interest of the business to be protected by law. There
is no patent disclosure and copyright protection submitted at present for the Smart Trolley,
however this will be submitted in the future for approval in order to protect the product from
any infringement. The target market for this product is the superstores retailers. The supply of
the product will depend on the demand from the retailers. Demand is predicted to be high
because the response from consumers shows that the product will be well appreciated by the
public due to its features such as mobile checkout and product search which has not yet been
implemented. Based on this prediction, the expected market share will be great once the
product is lunched. The design and development team for the Smart Trolley are experts with
the right technology skills to deliver the project on time. The team members meet regularly to
discuss objectives and progress. They sometimes disagree and deliberate on topics until an
agreement is reached. Every member is given a task with a schedule time to deliver. The Smart
Trolley is mobile and provides users the flexibility to make transaction from the Smart Trolley
within the business premises. It is reliable and highly efficient, because it is fully synchronised
with the store database, has GPS tracking enable, uses less power and does not require external
power source. This is a new technology and has not been implemented yet. However, all the
expertise put together to make the Smart Trolley are existing technologies. There will be high
market potential as the users responds shows that it will be a great shopping experience. It can
be very costly to produce, but operation cost will be low with high performance. This is because
low power is required to support the Smart Trolley and it is self-powered when the Smart Trolley
is in motion. There are few issues of concern, such as security and theft; however, this can be
addressed during design and implementation stage.

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6. RESULTS AND FAQS

The advancement in science and technology is a persistent process. Latest gadgets and latest
technology are being designed and developed. This application is used in shopping malls for
assisting customers by saving a lot of time in buying commodities. In this project RFID is used as
safety access for the item which thereby enhances the surveillance performance. This
implementation initiates for an automated central billing system in shopping malls and
supermarkets. With this, shoppers no longer have to wait near counters for payment of bills
because of their purchased item information getting transferred to central billing unit. By this
billing process speed increases and becomes much simpler. In addition to this capability, the
mechanism also assures recognition of cases of theft induced by fraudulent consumers which
makes the system more reliable and fascinating to both customers as well as sellers. This will
enhance the shopping experience to a new level. Different variables like item cost, item name
etc. are continuously displayed on LCD attached to the trolley. Thus we can say that automatic
billing of products by using RFID technique will be a more feasible choice in the upcoming days
and thereby operation becomes more concise and systematic. The objective is effectively
attained in the prototype model developed. The developed product is of low cost, amiable to
use and does not require any specific practice. The ability to take a decision can be done in the
cart itself which can be used in the shopping complexes for effortless and clever way of
purchasing items to save vitality, time and money of the customers. The project is evaluated
with different trial cases with distinct items assessed for all the practical trials. Tags used in this
project are of water sensitive so the trolley is restricted to use water sensitive products. And
moreover tags used in this project have the capacity of detecting only one side therefore tags
are attached to products in circular fashion in order to avoid non detection. If we can use more
powerful tags which are under research, we can overcome this problem. When the evaluation
is done with a single shopping trolley with distinct items, it gives the 83% accuracy for all the
cases.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. What do I do with the weighted items?

We ask that customers weigh their loose products themselves and then show the barcode to
the cameras in their trolley and then place the items in the trolley just as they would do with
any other item in store.

Q. What happens if you are in the supermarket and for some reason you have to leave
urgently, and you just leave your trolley and exit?

There will be manual intervention through IMAGR’s backend, a store representative can just
cancel the contents and receipt if they see someone abandon a trolley.

Q. What types of payments do you accept?

We accept Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover. Monthly Smart Trolley subscripts require a
credit card payment and are automatically billed each month. Annual Smart Trolley
subscriptions can be paid with credit card, PayPal, Google checkout, check.

Q. What if I lose my phone or it gets stolen what’s to stop someone else using my phone at
the supermarket with smart trolley?

Customers have a pin code/password to log in. Customers can also opt to have a password
protection when it comes to pay, if they want two-factor authentication.

Q. How does Smart Trolley actually work?

IMAGR uses their proprietary technology to sit behind camera’s that are retrofitted onto trolleys
and baskets. To activate Smart Trolley, shoppers simply download an app and link a payment
method to their account. In store, they pair their smart phone with unique QR code on the Smart
Trolley shopping cart/trolley, and as they add products to their trolley the items appear into their
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phone’s virtual basket-removing traditional barcode scanning and the checkout process
altogether.

Q. Does Smart Trolley encourage sustainability?

Yes, when shoppers use Smart Trolleys and carts, which are retrofitted to existing trolleys and
carts in supermarkets, they can clip in their own reusable shopping bags to each trolley or cart.
IMAGR will be providing their own bags to everyone that uses Smart Trolley- they are made
from a plant based material making them 100% biodegradable and reusable.

Q. What if your Smartphone battery goes flat half way around the store?

Once a session has started IMAGR doesn’t need to access your phone, as long as the customer
paired at the start they can keep the session rolling. However, the customer will just loose
visibility of the rolling receipts and the additional benefits such as being guided around the store
for ingredients. A store representative can also transfer the cart to a normal checkout and
payment can be made there if they wish.

Q. How do you physically check out using your Smartphone/what is the final transaction?

Stores/Supermarkets will have a Smart Trolley express lane- so when the trolley or basket enters
that lane the session is cut off and the transaction is taken.

Q. What is RFID?

Radio frequency identification, or RFID, is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves
to automatically identify people or objects. There are several methods of identification, but the
most common is to store a serial number that identifies a person or object, and perhaps other
information, on a microchip that is attached to an antenna (the chip and the antenna together
are called an RFID transponder or an RFID tag). The antenna enables the chip to transmit the
identification information to a reader. The reader converts the radio waves reflected back from

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the RFID tag into digital information that can then be passed on to computers that can make
use of it.

Q. Why is RFID better than using bar codes?

RFID is not necessarily "better" than bar codes. The two are different technologies and have
different applications, which sometimes overlap. The big difference between the two is bar
codes are line-of-sight technology. That is, a scanner has to "see" the bar code to read it,
which means people usually have to orient the bar code towards a scanner for it to be read.
Radio frequency identification, by contrast, doesn’t require line of sight. RFID tags can be read
as long as they are within range of a reader. Bar codes have other shortcomings as well. If a
label is ripped, soiled or falls off, there is no way to scan the item. And standard bar codes
identify only the manufacturer and product, not the unique item. The bar code on one milk
carton is the same as every other, making it impossible to identify which one might pass its
expiration date first.

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7. CONCLUSIONS
 As the technology grows day by day, we can imagine about the future in which thing we may
occupy every place. 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 proposed
project was designed to accomplish this providence.

 The proposed product is easy to use, low-priced and economical and doesn’t require any
special training. This model keeps an account and uses of the existing developments and
various types of detection and security technologies which are used for item recognition,
billing and inventory update. As the whole system is becoming smart, the requirement of
man power will decrease, thus benefiting the retailers. Theft in the mall will be monitored
using this smart system, which further adds to cost efficiency. The time efficiency will
increase phenomenally since this system will eliminate the waiting queues. More customers
can be served in the same time thus benefiting the retailers and customers as well.

 The smart shopping trolley 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 with doing other things rather than standing idly to wait for their turn to pay.
Since most of the technology involved in this project already existed, the simplicity of the
project is thus appropriate for the senior design project. The smart shopping trolley suits the
need of the supermarkets that wanted to avoid large crowd during peak hour. By the time
this project is moved into the design and manufacture process, each team member would
have clear understanding on the technology used, and important concepts that involved. This
project simplifies the billing process, makes it swift and increases the security using security
tracking device. This will take the overall shopping experience to a different level.
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 The smart shopping trolley application creates automated central billing systems (ACBs) for
supermarkets/hypermarkets and malls. Using product identification (PIDs), customers will
not have to wait near cash counters for their bill payment. Since their purchased product
information is transferred to central billing system. Customers can pay their bill through
credit/debit cards as well. The system purposed is highly dependable, authentic trustworthy
and time-effective. There will be reduction in salary amount given to employees, reduction
in theft. And the most prominent the system is time efficient. This concept is used as a
business strategy to attract more number of customers.

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8. RECOMMENDATIONS
This Smart Trolley project is a representation of the advancement of mankind towards the
future. Use of this product for a regular commercial basis will surely be helpful as far as
convenience of customers is concerned. This product will also be efficient as compared to the
conventional trolley system, in terms of design and looks, space accommodated, and material
usage. Adding to this, the use of future inventions like more precise sensors, faster controlling
units, powerful battery units, etc. will enhance its productivity. Following are some suggestions
from the developers of this trolley:

1. Interfacing various display devices like Braille Display for blind people to make use of the
trolley.
2. An Artificial Intelligence System to recommend products to the customers on the basis of
their previous purchases.
3. A system to keep an instant record of the availability of products.
4. A smart system interfaced with RFID scanner to display the information about the product
scanned.

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9. APPENDIX

Figure 1 Fundamental tools of the smart trolley

Figure 2 A basic RFID reader (not in use)

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Figure 3 Interfacing detailing the automated moving system of the trolley

Figure 4 Actual Interfacing for a MKR1000 based motor system

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10. BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/MahanteshHiremath11/smart-shopping-system
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280721277_Smart_Trolley
https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/smart-trolley-using-smart-phone
https://store.arduino.cc/usa/

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11. GLOSSARY
1. RFID - RFID Reader detects the RFID Tag and trolley act as Smart Trolley.

2. Arduino - We are using Arduino MKR Wi-Fi 1010 as it connects easily to other Arduino
products and is configurable using Arduino software

3. NRF24L01 - It uses the 2.4 GHz band and it can operate with baud rates from 250 kbps up to
2 Mbps. If used in open space and with lower baud rate its range can reach up to 100 meters.

4. Database Management System - Database connection is the process by which client software
communicate with a database server. The software uses the database connection to send
requests and get replies from the database server.

5. Application - As it is Bluetooth controlled.... mobile application is used and customer gets all
the notifications.

6. Image processing - Digital image processing is the use of computer algorithm to perform
image processing i.e. the analysis and manipulation of the image in order to improve its quality

7. Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) - Facility that allows computers, smart phones and other devices to
connect to the internet or communicate with each other.

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Smart Trolley System
What does this report
tell you?
A dynamic and robust shopping trolley for your 

daily needs

 The ideology behind this

Chapters 2 and 3 project
We introduce you to our concept and what all went in our minds
before selecting this project and how we underlined the broad
objectives and outcomes for our project.
 How it was created from
scratch
Chapters 4 and 5
We discuss everything that concerns the project, both external and
internal designs. Starting right from the basic methodology to  The tools and
advanced data processing algorithms, everything that makes up the components used
heart and “wheels” of our project is discussed in detail.

 The detailed UI/UX design

After this we proceed to the analysis of our project: how different
software and hardware components go hand in hand, the
interconnection capabilities and security measures implemented in
our project. Also an insight is given into our attempts at solving some
 Algorithms governing the
common obstacles and hindrances to the smooth operation of our internal processes
smart trolley.

Chapters 6,7 and 8  How various hardware

The final chapters of this report discuss some common FAQs usually components are
interfaced
posed by our intended end users or customers through an interactive
Q&A section and the final results obtained from the current
development level of this project. It proceeds to give the readers a
few ideas and a couple of valuable suggestions on how they can  How you can contribute
contribute to the development of this project and its future scope. to this project

The report concludes by taking the reader through the various

references and sources used by the developers and engineers
behind this project and finally revisits some of the important words,
terms and abbreviations in use throughout the report.