Retail shelf image processing and inventory tracking system

Abstract

The disclosed system and method relate to automatically detecting empty spaces on retail store shelves, identifying the missing product(s) and causing the space to be replenished or restocked. For example, stores may use shelf-mounted imaging devices to capture images of shelves across the aisle from the imaging devices. The images captured by the imaging devices may be pre-processed to de-warp, de-skew images and stitch together multiple images in order to retrieve an image that captures a full width of a shelf. The pre-processed images can then be used to detect products on the shelf, identify the detected products. An iterative projection algorithm or product fingerprint matching algorithm can be used to identify the products. When an incorrect product listing or an empty shelf space is encountered, a message may be sent to the store employee to remedy the issue.