Window Shopping With Gesture Recognition

angry tapir writes "German researchers have given a new meaning to window shopping. At the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute showed a prototype that lets shoppers learn more about what's in a store display window when the store is closed. Called the Interactive Shop Window, the system consists of a flat screen monitor and a motion tracker positioned behind the glass of a store's front window."

Comments

Consumers

[Mensa Babe]

Can't they just wait to learn more about what's in a store display window till the store is open? I feel sorry for them. It is called oniomania and I don't really think that we should use technology to worsen the suffering of people who are seriously addicted and need our help instead of blatant exploitation of their condition.

Re:Consumers

[xtracto]

Well it depends. In Germany, shops must close every Sunday by law. Thus you have a whole day in which a lot of people have free time to go out.... but they cannot enter your store. I have been amazed at this fact since I arrived to Germany 3 years ago. Why would shops close in one of the only days I have free time? A similar thing happened in the UK about 6 years ago (I think they now open also Sundays) but worse, as shops closed exactly at 5:00pm on weekdays (when I got out of work... uh?).

This technology at least give people something to do on those days. Another option I have thought is for shops to put codes with special discounts on the shop's windows on Saturday before closing. With this codes, they could let consumers order/buy whatever discounted goods via Internet and them, supply them in the store on the next working day.

Re:Consumers

[maxwell demon]

Can't they just wait to learn more about what's in a store display window till the store is open? I feel sorry for them. It is called oniomania and I don't really think that we should use technology to worsen the suffering of people who are seriously addicted and need our help instead of blatant exploitation of their condition.

Welcome to capitalism.

Re:Consumers

[maxwell demon]

This technology at least give people something to do on those days.

I feel sorry for people who don't know what to do if they can't go shopping.

Re:Consumers

[prionic6]

This may be debatable, but shops close when you have free time because the people who work there would like to have free time, too.

Re:Consumers

[nashv]

On the other hand, you don't want retail staff having free time when the consumer is most likely to shop. It comes with the job package. Living in Germany after growing up in a megacity like Mumbai , I find this close-early/weekends off habit of stores utterly strange and illogical.

Re:Consumers

[Sockatume]

The target here isn't "consumers", it's "stores". It's been developed so it can be sold to stores who will hope it can help advertise their wares. It has not - as you seem to have misconstrued - been developed to meet some demand from consumers. That demand does not exist.

Re:Consumers

[jperl]

I for one would think that online shops which are open 24/7 are worse for people suffering from shopping addiction. An online shops seems much more tempting than a physical store which is even closed. If you are dependent on shopping, simply getting information about a product will not satisfy your needs.

Re:Consumers

[Hognoxious]

Some of us don't have our moms living upstairs to do our shopping for us.

Re:Consumers

[Hognoxious]

I wasn't aware that every employee had to be there all the time the store is open. And it must be superb being a criminal if the police only work 9-5, M-F.

Moron.

Re:Consumers

[antdude]

It reminds me of commercials with women waiting for Ross(?) stores' doors to open many years ago. Heh. :)

Start with a decent Website instead

[PolygamousRanchKid]

If the store has a decent Website, I can browse whatever is in there from the comfort of my own home. In the simplest version, just take a few photos of the inside of the store, and update them every week; no need for a content management system.

Just write the Web address in the store window, or has "A Method and Process of Getting Folks to Visit Your Website by Advertising it" already been patented?

Re:Start with a decent Website instead

[GameboyRMH]

Exactly, this could be useful for advertising (in which case it doesn't need to be interactive), but a website with a good product catalog would solve the problem. Best of all, that way the person doesn't need to be standing at your storefront and can look at your products any time they like! Amazing!

But

[rossdee]

I don't want to go Window shopping, I am quite happy with Windows XP SP3 and don't see any need to upgrade to a slower bloated operating system.

Just some bugs to sort out.

[richy freeway]

Like the fact it doesn't fucking work. Why gestures? You could put a touch screen layer on the glass and people could interact with it like that. I've seen it done at least a decade ago for a tourist information kiosk and it worked just fine. Sounds like this is a solution desperately looking for a problem and a solution for it's own problems.

Re:Just some bugs to sort out.

[Sockatume]

How often do you seem someone wash their hands before leaving the restroom ? How often do you seem someone wash their hands before they use a touchscreen?

(Also an optical gesture control system means you don't have to modify your existing glazing to accomodate a touchscreen, but not getting Mr. I Was Just Pissing's dick germs on my hands is reason enough.)

Re:Just some bugs to sort out.

[richy freeway]

s/touchscreen/pay phone/door handle/any other object someone else might have handled before me/

The very fact that this product doesn't even work properly, and they admit that, just goes to show what a massive waste of time it is. Can you honestly see people waving their arms around in front of a shop window to find out more about a product. Information they're not going to be able to take home with them and study/compare.

Just stick some QR codes to the window and let people use their own hardware to access your website either on their phone or at home later.

Re:Just some bugs to sort out.

[Sockatume]

Yeah, I suppose "it's not as unhygenic as an outdoor touchscreen" isn't exactly a positive trait.

Obligatory hooligans on looting spree joke

[Latent Heat]

Oooooh! Flat screen!

Gestures? How about the one of the arm cocked back about to throw a hard object? Danger Will Robinson! People attempting to shop the store after hours!

Am I the only one who read

[lachesis-jp]

Windows Shipping with Gesture Recognition.

Oh, this is good, this is really really GOOD

[rim_namor]

I love this. I want to play with it. I have a few "gestures" I want it to recognize. Incidentally I am performing one of those gestures right now. Well, two of them, they are reciprocal. I also like to wear long coats, I have a collection. So I just may ask the thing to show me another long coat.

Two world wars and one world cup

[Hognoxious]

Can it recognize this, you fucking squareheads?