US-12619843-B2 - RFID-based positioning system for indoor environments

US12619843B2US 12619843 B2US12619843 B2US 12619843B2US-12619843-B2

Abstract

Particular embodiments described herein include an apparatus for providing RFID-based locations for items located in an indoor environment including an RFID scanner to transmit interrogating RFID signals and to receive RFID identifiers for RFID tags, the RFID tags being affixed to the items in the indoor environment. The apparatus can additionally include an indoor location tracking device to determine a current location of the apparatus within the indoor environment, wherein the apparatus is mobile and configured to be moved throughout the indoor environment. The apparatus can further include an RFID-location processor to receive RFID data from the RFID scanner and location data from the indoor location tracking device, correlate portions of the RFID data with portions of the location data, and generate RFID-based location data for the items located in the indoor environment based, at least in part, on the correlated portions of the RFID data and the location data.

Inventors

David Groomes
Kalyan Manepalli
Tim Milne
Cameron Peickert

Assignees

TARGET BRANDS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240110

Claims (20)

1 . A method for providing RFID-based locations for items located in an indoor environment, the method comprising: receiving RFID data, wherein the RFID data comprises (i) a plurality of signal strength readings for each of a plurality of RFID identifiers at different locations in an indoor environment and (ii) time series data for each of the plurality of RFID identifiers, wherein the time series data is generated from a scanning device being physically moved around different locations near the RFID identifier over a period of time; obtaining RFID-location data correlating portions of the RFID data with the locations of each of the plurality of RFID identifiers in the indoor environment, wherein the RFID-location data comprises the different locations of the scanning device as the scanning device is being physically moved around the indoor environment; determining, for each of the RFID identifiers and based on the RFID data and the RFID-location data, location confidence values indicating a likelihood that an item is in a location based on a combination of (i) determining an inverse of a radius of the location associated with the RFID data and (ii) identifying timestamps of the time series data being within a threshold amount of time of timestamps of the RFID-location data, wherein determining, for each of the RFID identifiers, the location confidence values further comprises assigning a lower location confidence value in response to determining that the RFID-location data is associated with a location in a predefined buffer region of the indoor environment and assigning a higher location confidence value in response to determining that the RFID-location data is associated with a location outside of the predefined buffer region of the indoor environment; determining a current location of the item in the indoor environment based on: accessing the location confidence values, identifying one or more RFID identifiers amongst the RFID identifiers having an optimal combination of a maximum signal strength and a maximum location confidence value based on (i) identifying the maximum signal strength that exceeds a threshold confidence range relative to other signal strengths in the time series data and (ii) identifying the maximum location confidence value that is highest relative to other location confidence values amongst the location confidence values, and determining the current location of the item based on correlating the selected one or more RFID identifiers with items in a RFID-items database; and returning information about the current location of the item in the indoor environment.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein, in response to identifying multiple locations having a signal strength within a threshold value of a maximum signal strength value, determining the current location comprises determining a centroid location value amongst the multiple locations as the current location.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein, in response to identifying multiple locations having a signal strength within a threshold value of a maximum signal strength value, determining the current location comprises determining an average location value amongst the multiple locations as the current location.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein, in response to identifying multiple locations having a signal strength within a threshold value of a maximum signal strength value, determining the current location comprises determining a median location value amongst the multiple locations as the current location.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the location confidence values comprises determining a radius of the locations associated with the RFID-location data.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the returned information comprises placement of the item on a sales floor in the indoor environment for replenishment tasks or fulfillment tasks in the indoor environment.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the returned information comprises an indication of whether the item is located in a corresponding department on a sales floor in the indoor environment.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the returned information comprises an indication of a quantity of the item that is on a sales floor in the indoor environment.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises: generating an item map for a sales floor in the indoor environment based at least in part on the RFID-location data; and returning the item map for the sales floor in the indoor environment.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises: retrieving, from the RFID-items database, RFID-item data, wherein the RFID-item data correlates each of the plurality of RFID identifiers with a plurality of items in the indoor environment; determining a quantity that each of the plurality of items is identified in locations in the indoor environment based on correlating the item in the plurality of items in the RFID-item data with instances that the RFID identifier are identified in the RFID-location data; and returning the quantity for each of the plurality of items identified in the indoor environment.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the method further comprises: identifying a first quantity that each of the plurality of items is identified in the indoor environment; identifying a second quantity that the item is identified in the indoor environment; determining that the second quantity of the item is greater than the first quantity of the item; determining that the second quantity of the item is in an expected location for the item based on a determination that the second quantity of the item is greater than the first quantity of the item; and returning information indicating that the first quantity of the item should be moved to the expected location for the item.
12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein returning the quantity for each of the plurality of items identified in the indoor environment comprises: determining whether the quantity for the item is within a threshold stock level for the item; and returning information indicating that the item is low in stock based on the quantity of the item being less than the threshold stock level.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined buffer region is a stock room and the indoor environment is a physical retail environment.
14 . A system for providing RFID-based locations for items located in an indoor environment, the system comprising: a scanner device comprising an RFID scanner and a location module, wherein the scanner device is configured to generate RFID data as the scanner device is being moved around different locations near a plurality of RFID identifiers in an indoor environment over a period of time, wherein the RFID data comprises (i) a plurality of signal strength readings for each of the plurality of RFID identifiers at the different locations in the indoor environment and (ii) time series data for each of the plurality of RFID identifiers; a data store configured to maintain RFID-location data correlating portions of the RFID data with the locations of each of the plurality of RFID identifiers in the indoor environment; a server system in network communication with the scanner device and the data store, wherein the server system is configured to perform a process comprising: receiving the RFID data from the scanner device; obtaining the RFID-location data from the data store; determining, for each of the RFID identifiers and based on the RFID data and the RFID-location data, location confidence values indicating a likelihood that an item is in a location based on a combination of (i) determining an inverse of a radius of the location associated with the RFID data and (ii) identifying timestamps of the time series data being within a threshold amount of time of timestamps of the RFID-location data, wherein determining, for each of the RFID identifiers, the location confidence values further comprises assigning a lower location confidence value in response to determining that the RFID-location data is associated with a location in a predefined buffer region of the indoor environment and assigning a higher location confidence value in response to determining that the RFID-location data is associated with a location outside of the predefined buffer region of the indoor environment; determining a current location of the item in the indoor environment based on: accessing the location confidence values, identifying one or more RFID identifiers amongst the RFID identifiers having an optimal combination of a maximum signal strength and a maximum location confidence value based on (i) identifying the maximum signal strength that exceeds a threshold confidence range relative to other signal strengths in the time series data and (ii) identifying the maximum location confidence value that is highest relative to other location confidence values amongst the location confidence values, and determining the current location of the item based on correlating the selected one or more RFID identifiers with items in a RFID-items database; and returning information about the current location of the item in the indoor environment.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the RFID scanner of the scanner device is configured to generate a first portion of the RFID data and the location module of the scanner device is configured to generate a second portion of the RFID data, the first portion comprising RFID information and the second portion comprising location information, wherein the RFID scanner comprises a handheld device or a device that is mounted to a movable structure in the indoor environment.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the scanner device further comprises an RFID-location processor that is configured to generate the RFID-location data based on correlating the RFID information from the RFID scanner with the location information from the location module.
17 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the process further comprises: correlating the items with the RFID data and the RFID-location data; determining a quantity of each of the items based on the correlating; determining a location of each of the items based on the correlating; and returning information about the items in the indoor environment, wherein the returned information comprises at least one of the quantity of each of the items and the location of each of the items.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the system further comprises a location system that is configured to determine locations of the items in the indoor environment, wherein the location system is configured to perform a process comprising: the correlating, the determining, the determining, and the returning.
19 . The system of claim 14 , the system further comprising: an inventory management system configured to iteratively determine inventory levels for the items in the indoor environment based on processing the RFID-location data, wherein the inventory management system is further configured to determine on-shelf inventory for the items in the indoor environment and backroom inventory for the items in the indoor environment.
20 . The system of claim 14 , the system further comprising: a mapping system that is configured to generate maps of the indoor environment based on processing the RFID-location data, wherein the maps include at least shelves, aisles, physical structures, and locations of the items in the indoor environment, wherein the mapping system is further configured to: generate, based on the maps, guidance information for relevant users in the indoor environment to travel to one or more of the items in the indoor environment; and return the guidance information to devices of the relevant users for presentation in respective graphical user interface (GUI) displays.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/573,377, filed Jan. 11, 2022, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/143,262, which applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This document generally describes technology for providing positioning information within indoor environments using RFID scans, such as providing product location information within a retail store (example indoor environment). BACKGROUND Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects (“RFID tags”). An RFID tag can include a small radio transponder with a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromagnetic interrogation pulse from a nearby RFID reader device, the RFID tag can transmit digital data, such as an identification number encoded within the RFID tag, back to the reader. The reader can receive and interpret this digital data, such as recording the identification number encoded within the RFID tag. Two general types of RFID tags have been developed-passive RFID tags and active RFID tags. Passive RFID tags are powered by energy from the RFID reader's interrogating radio waves and, in response to being powered by the interrogating radio waves, reflect the encoded digital data back to the reader. Active RFID tags are powered by a battery (or other onboard power source), which can extend the range over which they are able to interact with an RFID reader (e.g., range of up to hundreds of meters). Unlike barcodes and other optically read encodings (e.g., QR codes), RFID tags can be read without line of sight between the RFID tag and the reader. SUMMARY The technology disclosed in this document generally relates to determining accurate locations for items with RFID tags in indoor environments (e.g., retail store, warehouse, stock room) through the use of an indoor positioning system. For example, the disclosed technology can provide mechanisms to more accurately, quickly, and robustly identify and determine the locations of RFID-tagged items, such as consumer products, within an interior environment, such as retail stores. Achieving these outcomes (accurate, robust, and quick identification of item location in interior space) has been challenging with traditional options. For example, manual inventory checks, which can involve workers physically counting inventory items that are currently on shelves in a store and recording those tallies with an inventory management system, are labor and time intensive. As a result, manual inventory checks may be performed with only a limited frequency (e.g., once per day, once per week), which may create inconsistency between the inventory that is actually on store shelves and that which is reflected in electronic records for an inventory management system. In another example, active RFID tags have been used to provide anti-theft features for higher value items within a store, but those active RFID tags are more expensive to implement and not cost effective to deploy across large swaths of products within a retail store. Similarly, “smart shelving” that includes sensors and tracking devices to detect the presence of items on a shelf can provide better real time inventory information, but they come at a significant expense to implement these features across some or all shelves in a retail store, they may not be possible in all product environments (e.g., may not be possible for refrigerated and/or frozen goods), and they may not be able to readily differentiate between products intended for a shelf and other products misplaced on a shelf. The disclosed technology provides a better solution to identify the location of physical items with passive RFID tags within an indoor environment, such as a retail store, by accurately correlating indoor positioning data with RFID scan data. For example, indoor positioning systems, such as wireless beacon systems and/or light-based positioning systems (e.g., Acuity's Atrius Navigator system), can include an infrastructure of transmitters and/or receivers within the indoor environment that interact with a mobile device (e.g., handheld device) to provide the location of the mobile device within an indoor environment. Such a mobile device can additionally include (and/or be paired with) an RFID scanner to contemporaneously generate location data and RFID data, which can be correlated with each other to provide RFID-based location information, which can be used to determine the location of products (correlated with individual RFID tags) within an interior space. Such RFID-based location information for items can be more easily and quickly generated, for example, by simply having a worker traverse aisles in a store with such a mobile device (or other apparatus), which can be performed frequently than manual inventory counts. Additional