IOSR Journal of Computer Engineering (IOSR-JCE)

e-ISSN: 2278-0661, p- ISSN: 2278-8727Volume 16, Issue 1, Ver. VII (Feb. 2014), PP 23-30
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Novel Model for Automating Purchases using Intelligent Cart

1
Ms. Vrinda,
2
Niharika
Department of Computer Science ITM University, Gurgaon
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science ITM University, Gurgaon

Abstract: A novel commodity with societal approval is the one that abets comfort, benefit and effectiveness in
everyday life. Large retail outlets are nowadays used by millions of people for the procurement of a large
number of items. Commodity acquisition is an intricate process comprising of time wasted in arcade, commodity
position and checkout queues. Additionally, it is becoming increasingly troublesome for retailers to keep the
customers loyal and to anticipate the customer needs because of the impact of competition and the scarcity of
tools that differentiate consumption scheme. In this paper, the proposal of a framework and solution of an
innovative system for the procurement of items in grocery stores (Smart Cart) is presented. The Smart Cart uses
emerging mobile technologies and automatic recognition technologies, such as RFID as a method to revamp the
standard of services given by the retailers and to elevate the consumer value, thus saving time and money. The
main objective of this proposed model is to present a technology-oriented, easily scalable, low-priced, and
robust system for assisting a person while shopping. The framework has following key modules (a) Server
Communication Module (SCM) (b) Customer Interface and display component (CIDC), and (c) Automatic
billing Module (ABM). SCM initiates and sustains the link of the cart with the main server. CIDC delivers the
user interface and ABM conducts the billing in association with SCM. These components are implanted into an
embedded system and are tested to check the functionality. This fixture makes shelf indirectly smart, making
sure that commodity is restocked. The prototype presented is for commercial deployment with proper heed to
network and security issues.
Keywords: RFID, Intelligent cart, Smart cart, RF Tag, RF readers, ZigBee Module.

I. Introduction
The advances in scattering of information merged with the urbanization of modern society have
generated a so-called new customer. Todays customer has got a deeper understanding in equating product costs;
has great expectations in services and client regard.RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID)
technology accredits recognition and relation of an article to a unique recognition code on the RFID tag attached
on the object [1]. RFID and wireless networks are emerging technologies, making the conventional retail process
fast, self evident, transparent and effective. This technology represents to retailers a chance to decrease costs and
to enhance services, permitting to attend consumers quickly and bestowing personalized services. The main
technological aim for our proposed model is use of RFID technology for the automatic product recognition inside
the cart, thus abolishing customer intervention in the procedure of item reading for payment. Nowadays, the use
of barcode for commodity detection presents several shortcomings:
1. Information is static
2. Permits one single reading at a time
3. Entails line-of sight
4. Low range and security.

RFID technology is safer, can give other types of information, can make concurrent readings, with no need
line-of-sight. Extending these concepts, it possible to form a system that automatically categorize every item,
also automating purchases and eliminating the long queues and boosting time efficiency. The model of an
intelligent shopping cart (embedded system) is presented which can be used in grocery stores and shopping malls
to solve the existing problems. The intelligent Shopping Cart is endowed with Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) reader for product recognition and a tag so that this cart can be identified. Besides, it also has an LCD
display that notifies the customers about item costs, offers, discounts and the total bill. As soon as the item is
dropped into or removed from this smart cart, the reader identifies the tagID of product and the respective price of
the item and updates the bill. When the customer has completed buying stuff, he can check out after paying the
bill without the need to stand in queues. This proposed model is easily scalable, robust and requires no special
training. The smart carts automatic billing system makes shopping a sinecure as it frees the staff from tedious
checkout scanning, reducing total number of employees required and elevating operational effectiveness of the
system. In this paper, the model presented appreciably lowers the overhead of the earlier proposed models. Even
when there are a lot of customers in the store, there will not be any decline in the working of the system. The
organisation of this paper is as follows: Section II presents the system design in detail, Section III gives the
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working of the proposed smart shopping system, Section IV presents the process flow charts, Section V presents a
performance analysis of the system model and Section VI gives the conclusion of the paper.

II. DESIGN IDEA AND BLOCK DIAGRAM
The model features a cart equipped with an RFID reader, a ZigBee transceiver and an LCD display. The
cart is initially deactivated. Upon entering in the specific area, the stores main reader would trigger the respective
passive RFID tag on the cart that entered, thus activating it, and turning ON all the components such as RFID
reader, micro controller and ZigBee The reader on the cart sends the tagID of the item being dropped into or
removed from the cart and price against it to the main reader which updates the bill for the respective cart. It
scans products when customer picks up from the shelf and puts in the cart. The cartID, tagID of the item and the
corresponding price is transmitted by the carts reader to the main reader using the IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee
Protocol). This smart shopping cart keeps an account of the bill made by keeping running total of their purchases.
LCD screen will show the total bill of the items present in the cart.
The main reader is consistently connected with the database via server and is equipped with ZigBee
transceiver to receive from the carts reader cartID, tagID and price of the data item which is being put into or
removed from the cart. This main reader is also in communication with reader on the exit door which detects a
particular cart at the checkout time. This exit door reader has a ZigBee transceiver so as to send the information
of detected cart to the main reader [2]. It also communicates with the server via the main reader, which is being
constantly updated by the main reader for every cart that entered the store area.
The server is connected to the database. All the changes intended to be made in the database are made with help
of the server via main reader. The database entry change when the server is invoked by the main reader. Then the
server makes the changes in the database and its table.
The exit door reader detects the cart at the exit, communicates with the database via main reader for the
bill against a particular cart. At the exit, the customer is assisted by an attendant. Bill is ready, just the payment is
made. Also, the database can be refined as the data is gathered from various carts as it comes from the exit reader.
When there is a change in environment, detection can be made by the database that is self-refining.
The model makes sure that the system gives the same conduct even when many customers are shopping at the
same instance in the store. The Fig 1,Fig 2and Fig.3 give a detailed view about the model being presented and the
basic parts of the system and how the system components communicate with each other and how information
travel.

Fig.1. The block diagram of cart section

Fig. 2. Block Diagram for the Billing section
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Fig. 3. Block Diagram for a major part of Server Communication Module
The proposed model consists of 3 key modules:
1. Consumer Interface and display component (CIDC)
This part of the system has the LCD screen on the cart to aid the customer to see the transaction and the running
bill of the items being purchased. This is supervised by controller.

2. Automatic Billing Module (ABM)
Automatic Billing Module and Inventory Management component handles the billing of articles in association
with the SCC. The cart is detected by reader at the exit. Then this carts bill is attained from the database.

3. Server Communication Module (SCM)
SCM initiates and maintains the connection of the smart shopping cart with the main server. The main reader is
connected with the server and is equipped with ZigBee transceiver to receive from the carts reader tagID and
price of the data item which is being put into or removed from the cart and update the database for the respective
cart.
The Central Database is a made by combining a server system and multiple tables and which have a
connection with each other. The central database contains:

a) The information of the shelf comprising of quantity of item and price of item.
b) The Database also consists of tables having the information of different carts in the mall area.
The carts reader range should not be extended beyond the horizontal cart limits; this is done so that the reader
does not do the reading of the items inside other shopping carts or the items on shelves. However, readers range
should not be less than the carts limits with consequence of items not being identified that are present inside the
smart shopping cart. Vertically, the carts reader should be able to recognize the commodity down to the ground,
since there are some carts where products can be placed approximately 20 cm above the ground [3]. The RFID
cart reader should be able to read all the tags irrespective of the material.

III. WORKING OF SMART SHOPPING SYSTEM MODEL
When a customer enters the store with the cart, the main reader activates the cart by triggering the
passive tag on the cart.
When any item from the shelf is dropped in into the smart cart, RFID reader of the cart reads the tag on
the item and the information, comprising tagID and the price of the item, is extracted and corresponding bill is
displayed consistently on the LCD screen. At the same time the cart reader sends a packet having the cartID,
tagID and the price of the item to the main reader. Here the main reader updates the billing info against the
cartID in the database via server. Similar procedure is followed when an item is removed from the cart and kept
back on the shelf.
When the information is attained that a particular cart has picked the following items, the subtraction of
the quantity of items picked from the ones presents on the shelf is done. Quantity record is made earlier
manually on the database. Similarly, addition of the items that were put back on the shelf is done to the quantity
of the ones present already present.
A tag has a unique recognition number. When interrogation is done by the cart reader, the tag will send the
tagID to the cart reader, then sending this tagID and cartID to the main reader. A backend server that maintains
a database of all valid tagIDs against other items kept on the shelf. On receiving data from the main reader, it
searches its database or corresponding tables in the database for the tagID of the items. A main reader, that
connects to the server, to further check for tagID in its database. After checking, it creates a table corresponding
to the cartID, and items in the cart [4]. The table in database with items in the mart is updated according to the
items put in the cart as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.


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Fig. 4. Changes in database when item put into the cart.


Fig. 5. Changes in database when item removed from the cart.

A table as shown in table II is recorded in the database for a specific cart, for illustration considering a cartA. A
table as table I is made keeping the details of the items present in the mart and their price and quantity.
Depending on table II, changes are made in table I that is updating the inventory. Table III shows the new table
made after items have been put into the cart, thus changes introduced into the database. Inventory status of the
products is also updated by changes in database during shopping, thus informing to restock the items on the
shelf. The entries of the table are cleared, after exiting from the mall area as shown in Table VI.






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Table I: TABLE FOR MAIN DATABASE


Table II: TABLE FORMED IN DATABASE FOR A PARTICULAR CART


Table III: TABLE FORMED AFTER THE ITEMS PUT INTO THE CART


Table VI: THE TABLE CLEARED AFTER EXITING FROM THE DATABASE.

Since the inventory status of the items is consistently being updated, so this smart shopping model is making the
shelf indirectly smart with the use of smart cart. The attendants can be informed to restock particular items,
when items cross their safety stock limit.
When the person proceeds to the checkout counter for the payment of the bill, a reader here detaches
the cartID and sends this information to the main reader. The main reader after getting the info, checks the
database for the bill of the respective cart. The information from the database for this cartID is removed as
shown in Table VI. Later cleaning the database with no Cart A table. This billing information is sent to the exit
reader. The bill is displayed, the payment is received and the persons checks out.

IV. PROCESS FLOW CHARTS FOR THE SYSTEM PROPOSED
The working of the Smart/Intelligent Shopping Cart can be illustrated with the following steps:

1)When shoppers enter the mall area with the cart, the tagged carts are activated by the main reader and this
turns ON all components such as RFID reader, micro controller and ZigBee as shown in Fig 6.
2) Every item has an RFID tag containing unique id. Item Ids are fed in the database allotted to the respective
items.
3) When the customer puts any product in the cart from the shelf then the carts reader reads the tag and
extracts the information of the item i.e. itemID and price. The running bill is displayed on the LCD [5]. The
carts reader sends a packet to the main reader. This packet consists of cartID, itemID and price of the item
dropped. The main reader updates the database for a particular cart. This is outlined in Fig 7.
4) When the customer removes any product from the cart back to the shelf then the similar process is followed.
The carts reader reads the tag and extracts the information of the item i.e. itemID and price. The running bill is
displayed on the LCD by subtracting the price of the item from the bill. The carts reader sends a packet to the
main reader. This packet consists of cartID, itemID and price of the item dropped [6]. The main reader updates
the database for a particular cart and the bill is made for a particular cart. This is outlined in Fig8.
5) When a person is done with buying things from the store, he/she proceed to the checkout counter ,the exit
reader reads the tag on the cart, detects it and sends the cartID to the main reader. The main reader sees the
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database for the bill generated against this cart and this billing information is sent to the exit door reader. This is
depicted in Fig 9.
6) The payments can be made by card/cash, this goes by the customer choice. Now the customer can straight
away pay the bill and leave
7) Inventory status of the products is also updated during shopping. This makes the shelf indirectly smart using
the smart cart and the main reader [7].


Fig. 6. The carts status


Fig.7. Shopper puts article in the cart

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Fig. 8. Shopper removes the article from the cart


Fig. 9. At the billing section

V. COST AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
The feasibility agenda for this model has increased to a great extent, since this proposed system is
improving cost complexity and time efficiency. Table V compares the existing system with the proposed
system, thus analyzing the performance of the proposed system. Table VI compares the two models, thus
analyzing the costs of the system [8].


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Table V: Performance analysis


Table VI: Cost Analysis


VI. CONCLUSION
The intended goal is being successfully achieved in the prototype system proposed. The proposed
model is easy to use, low-priced and does not require any special training. This model keeps an account and uses
of the existing developments and various types of radio frequency identification and detection technologies
which are used for item recognition, billing and inventory update. The benefits of using this scheme in terms of
cost complexity and time efficiency can be summed up as:

As the whole system is becoming smart, the requirement of manpower will decrease, thus benefiting the
retailers.
Theft in the mall will be controlled using this smart system, which further adds to the cost efficiency.
The time efficiency will increase phenomenally since this system will eliminate the waiting queues.
More customers can be served in same time thus benefiting the retailers and customers as well.
This system proposed does not make use of intricate routing system architecture. Rather it uses simple
algorithms in order to banish existing problems. Model can be further extended, to prevent the loosing of the
intelligent/smart shopping cart [9]. It can be concluded that the initial cost of the model may be high but the in
subsequent years the model will be beneficial as compared to the system using barcode or manual system.
Further, a more advanced micro controller, larger display module and a service to pay the bill within the cart by
using swapping card can be used, thus providing the customers better services, improved consumer experience
and improving time complexity to a great extent.

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