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【2019 Solutions】 NexCOBOT - Smart Self-Checkout System Makes Future Shopping Convenient

Imagine a future where all shops have no clerks, fully replaced by smart devices. Simply placing items on the table and letting the intelligent self-checkout system handle the rest makes shopping convenient and easy. This scenario is not far-fetched, as unmanned store projects have already emerged in Taiwan, such as the recent multi-million investment by FamilyMart to create their second tech-concept store. Through human-machine collaboration and the latest technology, they aim to alleviate clerical work, and NexCOBOT hopes to bring this concept into unmanned stores to simplify the checkout process for consumers.

▲ NexCOBOT introduces a smart self-checkout system, aiming to incorporate this technology into unmanned stores, simplifying the checkout experience for consumers.

Dedicated to smart retail solutions to enhance consumer technology experience

NexCOBOT, a subsidiary of NEXCOM, specializes in the independent development of six-axis robots and smart retail solutions. With the rise of the Internet of Things, the line between physical and virtual commerce has blurred. NexCOBOT identifies three foundational elements of IoT commerce: smart retail, smart logistics, and cloud-based real-time management systems. Continually, NexCOBOT commits to smart retail solutions, addressing major pain points for business owners while considering enhanced technological experiences for consumers, hoping to pioneer unprecedented innovative applications.

NexStore machine displays the initial screen and confirms user identity
▲ When it's time to check out, simply place the items on the table, and a scanner will identify the products and display both the items and prices on the screen.

How does NexCOBOT's smart self-checkout system work? When checking out, place the shopping cart's items on the table. An overhead scanner performs image recognition, then the screen displays the types of products and the amounts. Payment can then be made using cards, smartphones, or other payment devices. It can even integrate with facial recognition systems, allowing customers to pay through face scanning, which saves the time previously spent scanning barcodes and queuing. Additionally, the store can utilize backend analyses to track customer data and popular products.

NexStore machine interface completes scanning food items, confirmation stage diagram
▲ Due to the need for precise image scanning, a detailed product database must be established beforehand. The store can also analyze customer data and popular items through backend analytics.

Establishing a product database to gain control of product information

Precise image scanning requires that all items have a previously established database. Scanning could include detailed 3D images of merchandise like cookie boxes or drink cans. The more detailed the database, the faster the checkout process and the more effective the backend analytics. However, because of limited space on counters, scanning large volumes of merchandise could be problematic. Initially, items easily recognizable (like those in bakeries) might be prioritized. Additionally, NexCOBOT offers modular solutions such as smart shelves, smart self-order systems, smart self-checkouts, smart marketing dashboards, etc., all customizable as per the client's requirements. Integration with existing systems such as Point of Sale (POS), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Digital Signage is also feasible.

▲ Besides using payment devices, it can even integrate with facial recognition systems, allowing customers to pay through facial scanning, eliminating the need for manual barcode scanning.

「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only. Translation date:2024-05-19」

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【解決方案】AI電眼取代人眼 慧演智能運用AI幫製造業做品管
Using AI vision to replace human vision, Claireye Intelligence uses AI to help the manufacturing industry with quality control

In response to customer demand on a wide variety of products in small quantities in the manufacturing industry, there is an urgent need to find AI solutions from the cloud to terminals Claireye Intelligence provides a solution that integrates software and hardware - BailAI image inspection solution to assist traditional manufacturing industries in improving process efficiency and product quality, thereby achieving the initial goal of transformation After the government declared 2017 to be Taiwan's "First Year of AI," AI startups have sprung up in Taiwan Established in 2018, Claireye Intelligence targets smart manufacturing and provides a platform for AI image analysis and process optimization, using the power of deep learning to detect product defects and abnormalities in the assembly process It assists companies in building infrastructure from terminals to the cloud, which enables automated monitoring of factory production to improve process efficiency and quality Focusing on AI image inspection based on its familiarity with the production line quality control process Shirley Liu, founder and CEO of Claireye Intelligence, is a young entrepreneur She entered the manufacturing industry after graduating from college and held a quality control position in the plastic injection process of hard disk parts "She was already on the production line at the time, and is familiar with the production line process of production machinery" She later switched career paths to marketing and planning, and then worked as an AI product manager When the time came, Shirley Liu decided to start a business, focusing on AI image recognition in the manufacturing industry "The difficulty for enterprises is the lack of an AI development team Even if an enterprise has an AI team, development projects will take a lot of time, at least 6-12 months" said Shirley Liu, who is well versed in the market's pain points The problem that needs to be solved by platforms is to provide services that allow traditional manufacturing industries to build their own AI models without needing employees with a programming background, and to remotely assist production lines with troubleshooting and subsequent system maintenance, helping companies save development time and labor costs BailAI image inspection platform usage scenarios Facing the large number of competitors that provide AI image recognition in the market, what are the technical advantages of Claireye Intelligence Shirley Liu said that many companies currently have AOI equipment, but the bottleneck in the application of AOI is that it can only be used for defect inspection in fast production of large quantities, and parameters need to be adjusted after each inspection or production Based on her understanding of the industry, most SMEs are limited by their financial resources due to AOI equipment often costing over NT1 million, but they also want to use automated inspection This is where Claireye Intelligence comes in Shirley Liu went on to say that it is impossible for traditional manufacturing industries to maintain a technical team that includes AI engineers, data engineers, cloud architects, and terminal architects Claireye Intelligence specializes in software and hardware integration Enterprises can use the BailAI image inspection platform to easily solve inspection problems on the production line In other words, customers only need to provide images or samples for Claireye Intelligence to carry out model training, model deployment, and system integration, and they can easily use AI technology to optimize and monitor production line processes Participated in the AI New Talent Selection and achieved a recognition rate of over 90 in assembly behavioral image recognition For example, a certain connector manufacturer only has 1-2 AI engineers in its technical team The main problem that needs to be solved is that most operators are on the production line, while quality control and senior managers are not on site, and the company wants to understand the actual situation of the production line through remote monitoring Claireye Intelligence uses industrial cameras to capture production line images, and transmits AI image analysis to the remote end Supervisors and quality control personnel can observe if there are any errors in the production line assembly, such as whether the connectors and lines are connected properly, through the monitor Claireye Intelligence's AI image inspection operates on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, and also utilizes terminal equipment, such as NVIDIA's edge computing equipment placed around the inspection station, to assist traditional manufacturing industries with improving production line efficiency and detecting problems early through an integrated solution from the cloud to terminals Claireye Intelligencersquos customers currently include aviation, electronic peripherals, connectors, and metal industries Assembly process solution for human behavior recognition in assembly lines achieves an accuracy of over 90 In order to demonstrate the depth of technology, Claireye Intelligence participated in the 2021 AI New Talents Selection of the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and provided Lite-On Technology with the "assembly process solution for human behavior recognition in assembly lines" The solution determines effective working hours and ineffective working hours of operators on the production line through cameras and AI image recognition It recognizes hand posture and position through images to determine the operator's assembly behavior, achieving an accuracy of over 90 Shirley Liu added that the assembly process of electronic components is complex, mostly carried out manually, and cannot be replaced by robotic arms Claireye Intelligence used cameras to film the assembly process of operators at Lite-On's assembly station The algorithm is then trained and corrected based on the video, and the final trained model can directly determine whether there are any errors in the assembly process to improve the overall process Project development time is expected to be shortened to 1 month by using the BailAI image inspection platform Since its establishment more than three years ago, Claireye Intelligence has accumulated a considerable amount of project experience and hopes to commercialize the project experience Shirley Liu pointed out that the trial version of BailAI image inspection will be completed this year 2022 Customers can choose industrial cameras or video cameras based on the detail of the object being inspected It can even use X-rays to capture images, and then the images are automatically marked by the platform Claireye Intelligence will provide customers with AI application models suitable for the field Inferences can also be made in the cloud or terminals for launch in the manufacturing industry The metals industry, metal casings of industrial computers, connectors, electronic peripherals, and mechanical parts can all use the platform for defect detection and object identification Claireye Intelligence will continue to improve its technical capabilities, accumulate customer experience to complete commercialization, and also accelerate the implementation of AI inspection applications In the mid-term, it will build terminal and cloud infrastructure and shorten the development time of enterprise AI projects from 6-12 months to 1 month, reducing usage time and lowering the threshold for enterprises The long-term goal is to target the Southeast Asian market where Taiwanese businesses are gathered, expand software and hardware integrated AI solutions to overseas markets, and expand the scale of operations

【解決方案】2秒鐘完成結帳動作 Viscovery AI影像辨識助攻智慧零售
Complete checkout in 1 second, Viscovery AI image recognition assists smart retail

Artificial intelligence AI has gradually changed the way various industries operate in recent years However, most of the work is still done by humans, with AI playing a supporting role This has led to emergence of the term "AI Copilot," which stands for "AI-driven tools or assistants" that aim to assist users in completing various tasks and improve productivity and efficiency The concept of AI Copilot comes from the role of "co-pilot" During flight, the co-pilot assists the main pilot in completing various tasks to ensure flight safety and efficiency In fact, there have been signs of various "machines" beginning to play the role of "copilot" in different fields since the Industrial Revolution, assisting humans in completing heavy physical and repetitive tasks, greatly improving factory production efficiency, and driving rapid economic development Following the advancement of computing equipment and breakthroughs in machine learning, deep learning, and image recognition technologies, the concept of AI Copilot has gradually taken shape The development of AI Copilot marks the transition from "machine-assisted to AI-assisted" Early robots could only complete preset repetitive tasks, but today's AI copilot can learn and adapt to new environments and tasks, and continuously optimize its performance in practical applications This transformation not only changes human-machine interactions, but also has a profound impact on various industries The application scope of AI copilot covers various industries, including finance, healthcare, manufacturing, education, retail, etc, and are everywhere to be seen Application of AI copilot in the retail industry AI image recognition checkout In the retail industry, the application of AI copilot has begun to show concrete results Take Viscovery's AI image recognition checkout system as an example This system is a type of AI copilot model that helps store clerks speed up checkout or assists consumers in simplifying the self-service checkout process The store clerk needs to scan the product barcodes one by one in the regular checkout method If a product does not have a barcode, such as bread and meals, the clerk needs to first visually confirm the items, and then input them into the POS checkout system one by one Based on actual measurements at a chain bakery, it takes 22 seconds for an experienced clerk from "visual recognition" to "entering product information of a plate of 6 items into the checkout system" New clerks may need even more time In addition, according to a Japanese bakery operator, it takes 1 to 2 months to train employees to become familiar with products Now with AI image recognition technology, store clerks let AI handle the "product recognition" step, and AI will play the role of copilot, quickly identifying items within 1 second, speeding up checkout to save 50 of checkout time, and optimizing customers'shopping experience The time cost of training employees to identify bread can also be effectively shortened Even for products with barcodes, AI can quickly identify multiple items in one second, which is more efficient than scanning barcodes one by one The self-checkout system "assisted" by AI image recognition allows consumers to successfully complete shopping without the help of store clerks, eliminating the trouble of swiping barcodes or searching for items on the screen, which improves the shopping experience In a time when store clerks are hard to hire due to labor shortage, this also helps stores reduce operating costs AI quickly identifies multiple checkout items in just one second Source of image Viscovery Recently, startups dedicated to developing AI image recognition checkout solutions have emerged in various countries The most lightweight solution currently known is in Taiwan It can be immediately used by installing a Viscovery lens and a tablet installed with Viscovery AI image recognition software at the checkout counter to connect to the store's existing POS checkout system There are various integration methods, including plug-and-play and API solutions integrated with the store's POS system Viscovery AI image recognition system can be painlessly integrated with the store's existing POS system Source of image Viscovery Example of AI image recognition checkout Currently, the Viscovery AI image recognition system is being used in bakery chains in Taiwan, Chinese noodle shops in Singapore, micromarkets in department stores in Sendai, Japan, and Japanese bakeries and cake shops Over 7 million transactions were completed through this AI system, which identified more than 40 million items These use cases demonstrate the extensive application of the Viscovery AI image recognition system in the retail industry In the future, the company will continue to explore the various possibilities of using Vision AI in retail and catering nbsp The Viscovery AI image recognition system is already being used in bakeries, cake shops, restaurants, and convenience stores in Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan Source of image Viscovery