Developing a Multitasking Shopping Trolley Based On RFID Technology

RFID (radiofrequency identification) technology offers the ability to provide many new services and conveniences in the retail environment. An innovative product with societal acceptance is the one that aids the comfort, convenience and efficiency in everyday life. Purchasing and shopping at big malls is becoming daily activity in various cities. We can see big rush at these malls on holidays and weekends. People purchase different items and put them in trolley. After completion of purchases, one needs to go to billing counter for payments. At billing counter the cashier prepare the bill using bar code reader which is very time consuming process and results in long queue at billing counter. In this paper, we discuss a product “Developing a Multitasking Shopping Trolley Based On RFID Technology” being developed to assist a person in everyday shopping in terms of reduced time spent while purchasing. The main objective of proposed system is to provide a technology oriented, low-cost, easily scalable, and rugged system for assisting shopping in person. The developed system consists of 3 key components/modules (a) Server Communication component (SCC) (b) User Interface and display component (UIDC), and (c) Automatic billing component (ABC). SCC establishes and maintains the connection of the shopping cart with the main server. UIDC provides the user interface and ABC handles the billing in association with the SCC. These 3 modules are integrated into an embedded system and are tested to satisfy the functionality. Smart shopping carts with electronic displays, in communication with a computer system, can display an overall description with cost details associated with a Shopping list Databases. Smart cart, also equipped with RFID tags, can also verify the Purchase of the items as they are placed in the cart and, if desired, communicate with a billing system to automatically bill the shopper for the purchases.