The first "intelligent" shopping trolley

AECOC and WIPRO Retail launched the first “intelligent” shopping trolley, a consumer aid which functions with radio frequency identification.

The “intelligent trolley” is the result of research carried out with European Union funding in collaboration with IESE, that transforms the shopping experience into a truly sensory one.

Known as Grocer, the trolley comes equipped with a radio frequency receiver and a plasma screen that allows the customer to interact with the system to both receive and transmit information.
For example, customers can immediately find out the price of the items they are putting into their trolleys and the total cost of their shopping; receive information about special offers; see recipe suggestions and a list of the necessary ingredients to prepare them; and receive directions to find the products in the store by the most direct route.

Additionally, the trolley has an entertainment programme where customers can listen to music, chat with other customers and even surf on the Internet. Grocer offers a wide range of services to revolutionise the shopping experience. Thanks to Grocer, consumers can save time, do a personalised shop, better control their expenses, and all this while passing some agreeable moments in the store.

On the other hand, companies can also provide better information and a personalised service to their customers, optimise their stock, be more effective in their marketing and reinforce customer loyalty.

 

The intelligent trolley is only one of the applications of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification): technology with great potential not only for point of sale but also for company warehouses, homes, medical centres, airports etc.

Although RFID is not new, the technology actually dates back to the 2nd World War, for several years now there has been no world standard to encourage its proliferation and widespread application.
Nonetheless, today, more than one hundred countries are backing one such standard, the EPC (Electronic Product Code), that AECOC (Association of Manufacturers and Distributors) is promoting and implementing in Spain and which, according to the experts, will be the final spring board for this technology.

Behind EPC there is a code on a tiny chip that can precisely identify, at a distance, any type of goods, articles, documents etc. It is the next generation to the bar code system.