Capacitive sensor for item identifying mobile apparatus

1 . A system comprising:

a housing comprising a capacitive sensor disposed thereon;

an imaging device positioned within the housing and configured to capture image data of an environment surrounding the housing, the imaging device having a first focal length and a second focal length, the first focal length shorter than the second focal length;

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

receiving first image data from the imaging device using the first focal length;

receiving capacitive sensor data from the capacitive sensor indicative of a presence of an item within a threshold distance of the imaging device;

causing the imaging device to capture second image data using the second focal length in response the capacitive sensor data;

determining that the second image data includes a representation of an item;

determining an identity of the item based at least in part on the representation of the item; and

storing an association between the identity of the item and a user of the system.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the capacitive sensor comprises a conductive flex applied to an interior or exterior of the housing.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform additional acts comprising:

determining a temperature drift of the capacitive sensor by identifying a change in capacitance data occurring over a period of time greater than a threshold period of time; and

resetting the capacitive sensor in response to determining the temperature drift.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the capacitive sensor is a first capacitive sensor and the capacitive sensor data is first capacitive sensor data, the system further comprises a second capacitive sensor disposed on an exterior of the housing, and the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform additional acts comprising:

receiving second capacitive sensor data from the second capacitive sensor; and

determining a difference between the first capacitive sensor data and the second capacitive sensor data, wherein causing the imaging device to capture the second image data is based at least in part on the difference.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the imaging device is configurable between a first setting and a second setting, the first setting comprising a power saving mode and associated with the first focal length and the second setting comprising an item scanning mode and associated with the second focal length.

6 . An imaging system comprising:

a capacitive sensor;

an imaging device configured to operate at least at a first setting and a second setting;

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to:

cause the imaging device to operate at the first setting;

determine, based at least in part on capacitive data from the capacitive sensor, that an item is brought within a threshold distance of the imaging system; and

cause the imaging device to capture image data at the second setting in response to the item being within the threshold distance.

7 . The imaging system of claim 6 , wherein the first setting comprises a power saving mode and the second setting comprises an item scanning mode.

8 . The imaging system of claim 6 , wherein the capacitive sensor is a first capacitive sensor configured to capture first capacitive sensor data, the imaging system further comprises a second capacitive sensor disposed surrounding the first capacitive sensor, and the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to additionally:

receive second capacitive sensor data from the second capacitive sensor; and

determine the capacitive data based on a difference between the first capacitive sensor data and the second capacitive sensor data.

9 . The imaging system of claim 6 , wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to additionally:

determine a temperature drift of the capacitive sensor by identifying a change in capacitance data occurring over a period of time greater than a threshold period of time; and

reset the capacitive sensor in response to determining the temperature drift.

10 . The imaging system of claim 6 , wherein the capacitive sensor defines a void adjacent a user interface, the capacitive sensor configured to gather capacitive data in a surrounding region excluding the user interface.

11 . The imaging system of claim 6 , wherein the computer-executable instructions to determine that the item is brought within the threshold distance comprises determining that a rate of change of the capacitive data exceeds a predetermined threshold.

12 . The imaging system of claim 6 , wherein the capacitive sensor is disposed on a surface of a housing at least partially enclosing the imaging device.

13 . The imaging system of claim 12 , wherein the housing is configured to connect to a mobile apparatus or stationary system for performing a checkout process.

14 . The imaging system of claim 6 , wherein the imaging device comprises an omnidirectional imaging device configured to capture image data representative of a unified view surrounding the imaging system.

15 . A method, comprising:

causing an image system to capture first image data at a first setting;

receiving capacitive data from a capacitive sensor coupled to a housing of the image system and comprising a conductive shell;

determining, based on the capacitive data, an item being brought within a threshold distance of the capacitive sensor; and

causing the image system to capture second image data at a second setting.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the first setting comprises a first focal length configured for capturing first image data at a first distance and the second setting comprises a second focal length for capturing second image data at a second distance, the first distance greater than the second distance.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein determining the item being brought within the threshold distance comprises determining that a rate of change of the capacitive data exceeds a predetermined threshold.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the capacitive data comprises first capacitive data, the method further comprising:

receiving second capacitive data from a second capacitive sensor, the second capacitive sensor disposed within the conductive shell; and

determining a difference between the first capacitive data and the second capacitive data, wherein determining the item is brought within the threshold distance is based at least in part on the difference.

19 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

determining a temperature drift of the capacitive sensor by identifying a change in capacitance data occurring over a period of time greater than a threshold period of time; and

resetting the capacitive sensor in response to determining the temperature drift.

20 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

operating the image system in a first operating state at a first time prior to determining the item is brought within the threshold distance; and

operating the image system in a second operating state at a second time later than the first time,

wherein the first operating state comprises a power save mode wherein one or more components of the image system may be disabled.