Application US20180181909

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING ITEM DISTRIBUTION
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US20180181909

1. A system to monitor a retail item along a distribution chain, comprising: (8) (4)

a camera system comprising a plurality of cameras configured to capture a plurality of video streams along a distribution chain, the plurality of cameras comprises at least one distribution center camera system and at least one on-vehicle camera system configured to capture images of a storage compartment of a transport vehicle;

an item record database comprising one or more item distribution records corresponding to each of multiple different monitored retail items;

one or more sensors along the distribution chain operatively coupled to a control circuit, the one or more sensors configured to provide sensed data to the control circuit; and

the control circuit coupled to the item record database and the one or more sensors, the control circuit being configured to: access the plurality of video streams throughout the distribution chain, the plurality of video streams are captured by the camera system;

detect one or more events based on the plurality of video streams and the sensed data;

identify, in the plurality of video streams, a monitored item of one or more monitored items based on the detected one or more events;

extract video data associated with the monitored item from at least one of the plurality of video streams;

aggregate the video data to form an item distribution record recording a movement of the monitored item along the distribution chain;

associate the item distribution record of the monitored item with a customer order for the monitored item in the item record database; and

provide the item distribution record to a user associated with the customer order via an item record user interface.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the video data associated with the monitored item comprises one or more of video segments, video object data, movement vector data, and movement path data. (0)

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is further configured to tag the detected one or more events in the plurality of video streams, wherein the video data comprises one or more event tags identifying detected events associated with the monitored item. (1) (0)

5. The system of claim 1, wherein aggregating the video data comprises stitching together a plurality video segments associated with the monitored item from the at least one of the plurality of video streams in chronological order. (0)

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one distribution center camera system comprises cameras positioned to capture video in one or more of: an item picking area, an item conveyor system, an item consolidation area, an item packing area, and an item loading area. (0)

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the camera system comprises at least one camera coupled to an unmanned ground delivery vehicle or an unmanned aerial delivery vehicle. (0)

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the distribution chain comprises a plurality of distribution centers and a plurality of transport vehicles each monitored by one or more cameras. (0)

9. The system of claim 1, wherein aggregating the video data comprises updating a blockchain maintained at a plurality of computer systems with the video data associated with the monitored item from the at least one of the plurality of video streams. (0)

10. The system of claim 1, wherein identifying the monitored item in the plurality of video streams comprises associating the monitored item with a second item, and using a movement of the second item in the plurality of video streams to determine the movement of the first item. (0)

11. A method for monitoring a retail item along a distribution chain, comprising: (8) (8)

receiving a plurality of video streams from a camera system comprising a plurality of cameras configured to capture the plurality of video streams along a distribution chain, the plurality of cameras comprises at least one distribution center camera system and at least one on-vehicle camera system configured to capture images of a storage compartment of a transport vehicle;

receiving sensed data from one or more sensors along the distribution chain;

detecting one or more events based on the plurality of video streams and the sensed data;

identifying, with a control circuit, a monitored item in the plurality of video streams based on the detected one or more events;

extracting, with the control circuit, video data associated with the monitored item from at least one of the plurality of video streams;

aggregating, with the control circuit, the video data to form an item distribution record recording a movement of the monitored item along the distribution chain;

associating the item distribution record of the monitored item with a customer order for the monitored item in an item record database; and

providing the item distribution record to a user associated with the customer order via an item record user interface.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the video data associated with the monitored item comprises one or more of video segments, video object data, movement vector data, and movement path data. (0)

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising tagging the detected one or more events in the plurality of video streams, wherein the video data comprises one or more event tags identifying detected events associated with the monitored item. (1) (0)

15. The method of claim 11, wherein aggregating the video data comprises stitching together a plurality video segments associated with the monitored item from the at least one of the plurality of video streams in chronological order. (0)

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one distribution center camera system comprises cameras positioned to capture video in one or more of: an item picking area, an item conveyor system, an item consolidation area, an item packing area, and an item loading area. (0)

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the camera system comprises at least one camera coupled to an unmanned ground delivery vehicle or an unmanned aerial delivery vehicle. (0)

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the distribution chain comprises a plurality of distribution centers and a plurality of transport vehicles each monitored by one or more cameras. (0)

19. The method of claim 11, wherein aggregating the video data comprises updating a blockchain maintained at a plurality of computer systems with the video data associated with the monitored item from the at least one of the plurality of video streams. (0)

20. The method of claim 11, wherein identifying the monitored item in the plurality of video streams comprises associating the monitored item with a second item, and using a movement of the second item in the plurality of video streams to determine the movement of the first item. (0)

21. An apparatus for monitoring a retail item along a distribution chain comprising: (0) (1)

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Application US20180181909

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING ITEM DISTRIBUTION

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