Determining The Position Of A Consumer In A Retail Store Using A Light Source

1 . A method comprising:

positioning at least one light source at a position in a retail store;

receiving, with a processing device of a position detection server, a video signal from an electronic device possessed by a consumer as the consumer shops in the retail store wherein at least one image frame of the video signal contains the at least one light source; and

determining, with the processing device, a location of the consumer within the retail store in response to said receiving step.

2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

emitting, with the least one light source, light having a predetermined frequency.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein said positioning step further comprises:

positioning a light source having a plurality of light-emitting structures mounted together at the position in the retail store.

4 . The method of claim 3 wherein said positioning step further comprises:

positioning a light source having a first light-emitting structure configured to emit light at a first frequency and a second light light-emitting structure configured to emit light at a second frequency wherein the first frequency is different from the second frequency.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein said determining step further comprises:

determining, with the processing device, a distance between the consumer and the position of the light source.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein said determining step further comprises:

determining, with the processing device, a direction the consumer is looking based on the video signal.

7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

pulsating the at least one light source in a predetermined timing pattern.

8 . A system comprising:

a position detection server having a processing device operable to receive a video signal from an augmented reality device possessed by a consumer as the consumer shops in a retail store wherein at least one image frame of the video signal contains at least one light source and the processing device includes:

a video processing module operable to receive the video signal and detect the at least one light source in the video signal and also detect at least one distinguishing characteristic of the light source;

an identification module operable to identify the at least one light source from among a plurality of light sources in the retail store in response to the at least one distinguishing characteristic of the light source; and

a position module operable to determine a location within the retail store of the consumer based on the identity of the at least one light source and based on the video signal received from the augmented reality device.

9 . The system of claim 8 further comprising:

a pulsation module operable to drive the at least one light source on and off in a predetermined timing pattern.

10 . The system of claim 8 wherein the position module is operable to determine a direction that the consumer is looking.

11 . The system of claim 8 further comprising:

a light source identification database containing a location of each of the plurality of light sources within the retail store.

12 . The system of claim 11 wherein said light source identification database contains the at least one distinguishing characteristic for each of the plurality of light sources and the at least one distinguishing characteristic is one of emitted frequency, configuration, and pulsation timing pattern.

13 . A method comprising:

positioning a plurality of light sources at respective and spaced positions in a retail store;

receiving, with a processing device of a position detection server, a video signal from a head mountable unit possessed by a consumer as the consumer shops in the retail store wherein at least one image frame of the video signal contains one of the plurality light sources;

identifying, with the processing device, the light source in the video signal from among the plurality of light sources within the retail store; and

determining, with the processing device, a location of the consumer within the retail store in response to said identifying step.

14 . The method of claim 13 further comprising:

storing, in a database, the positions of the plurality of light sources relative to one another within the retail store.

15 . The method of claim 13 wherein said positioning step further comprises:

positioning light sources in the retail store that are configured differently with respect to one another.

16 . The method of claim 15 wherein said positioning step further comprises:

positioning light sources in the retail store that include a different number of light-emitting structures with respect to one another.

17 . The method of claim 15 wherein said positioning step further comprises:

positioning light sources in the retail store that include different patterns of multiple light-emitting structures with respect to one another.

18 . The method of claim 13 wherein said positioning step further comprises:

positioning light sources in the retail store that emit light at different frequencies with respect to one another.

19 . The method of claim 13 wherein said positioning step further comprises:

positioning light sources in the retail store that emit light at different pulsation time frequencies with respect to one another.

20 . The method of claim 13 wherein said determining step further comprises:

determining, with the processing device, a direction that the consumer is looking within the retail store in response to the video signal received during said receiving step.