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A new RFID-based system for scanning baskets in a retail outlet has been developed and shown for the first time in the Philippines, according to the South Africa-based retail goods scanning system provider Trolley Scan.
The new Waverider system was developed by Saira C. Narajos, an industrial design student at De La Salle University in the Philippines, and was based on Trolley Scan's UHF RFID technology, which itself was originally developed as a barcode replacement technology for retail stores.
"Lots has been written and demonstrated about the scanning of supermarket trolleys (carts) using RFID in major retail stores. Initially there was the Supertag demonstration in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1994, and more recently there has been the Branders Automatic checkout system for trolleys," said Mike Marsh, managing director for Trolley Scan. "But what solution is there for the smaller stores, such as 'mom and pop' stores that are too small to allow trolleys to move in the aisles, or whose turnover is too small for a major technology installation?"
Marsh suggests that one answer may be the Waverider system which was demonstrated live in a small store in the Philippines. Narajos designed, built and installed the automatic self-service scanning system for baskets which can also be integrated with an anti-shoplifting system (such as the one integrated into Trolley Scan's own Trolleyponder protocols), and includes features for bagging the goods after scanning.
"There are several factors that I considered in designing the counter: the height of Filipino consumers; the dimensions of baskets and carts; the usual means of payment, and so on," explained Narajos. "I also made a market study regarding the bagging area because in our local grocery stores there is no 'do it yourself' option. But since the whole idea of the design was for express service, I made a different counter for the bagging area."
Know as "Waverider", the system forms part of the studies and development of technology needed for the eventual automatic scanning of purchases by retail store users. But this, of course, is a technology that can only be fully implemented when massive shortfalls in transponder production can be addressed, and when retail goods are tagged at item level.
Source: Trolley Scan
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