[explosion]
(Describer) Streams of light collide to create a globe filled with water. Title: Science Nation. A camera goes down a supermarket aisle.
(male narrator)
With so many products,
stores, and Web sites,
how do we decide what to buy
and where to shop?
It's near where I go to class
and really convenient.
(narrator)
Whether it's the convenience,
good service,
or finding the best deal,
store owners want to know
what keeps you coming back
to their stores.
There's a science to this.
Look at all the things which are
trying to grab your attention.
(narrator)
With support from the
National Science Foundation,
computer scientist
Rajeev Sharma and his colleagues
have developed software that
breaks down shopping behavior
much like Web sites do.
His company, VideoMining,
uses overhead cameras
to put together
a top-down view
of how people shop
and what they buy.
What VideoMining does
is use software
and cameras that are mounted
on the ceiling of stores
to track shoppers as they move
in the store and create data
that helps us understand
how shoppers are shopping.
(narrator)
The software creates maps
of a store's traffic patterns
by digitally analyzing
the video.
Cameras like these
are positioned directly above,
and picture resolution
is intentionally set low
so that shoppers
remain anonymous.
[Sharma speaking]
Computers are watching
the video
and generating numbers that
represent the shopper behavior.
(narrator)
The idea is to show
retailers and manufacturers
the best areas in the store
to place products
and how to create a comfortable
place for shopping.
Sharma identifies trends.
For example, people prefer
wider aisles when they shop.
Women take a lot longer
to shop than men,
and brand loyalty
is on the wane.
(Sharma)
People come in,
go between brands,
and pick the product based upon
price and other attributes.
By providing the data
to retailers and manufacturers,
they can design the stores
to match the shopper's interest.
(narrator)
The software
was initially created
to monitor the elderly
and disabled in their homes.
Now it's monitoring shoppers,
giving businesses a leg up
in the rat race of figuring out
how best to serve customers
and keep them coming back.
(Describer) The globe turns.
For Science Nation,
I'm Miles O'Brien.
