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Window Shopping With Gesture Recognition

Posted by samzenpus on from the point-and-purchase dept.

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."

4 of 39 comments (clear)

  1. Consumers by Mensa+Babe · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

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    Karma: Positive (probably because of superiour intellect)
    1. Re:Consumers by xtracto · · Score: 2

      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.

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      Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
    2. Re:Consumers by maxwell+demon · · Score: 2

      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.

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      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  2. Re:Just some bugs to sort out. by richy+freeway · · Score: 2

    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.