7-Eleven Japan Turns to AI Sensor to Improve In-Store Advertising

Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS) has introduced an intelligent vision detection solution for digital signage through its edge AI sensing platform, Aitrios, at 500 convenience store locations in Japan. The solution, dubbed the IMX500 vision sensor, was designed to help retailer and brand partners evaluate and enhance in-store advertising effectiveness. 

7-Eleven and other unnamed retailer partners in Japan are leveraging SSS’ vision-based technology to improve the implementation of digital signage systems and other brick-and-mortar advertising space as part of their respective retail media strategies, according to a media release. 

[Also Read: 7-Eleven Format Doubles in Size at Pilot Store in Japan]

As part of this effort, SSS’ IMX500 solution uses edge devices with on-sensor AI processing to automatically detect when customers see digital signage, count how many people paused to view it, and measure the percentage of viewers. The AI capabilities of the sensor collects data points, such as the number of shoppers who enter the detection area, whether they saw the signage, the number who stopped to view the signage, and how long they watched for. 

The system does not output image data capable of identifying individuals, making it possible to provide insightful measurements while helping to preserve privacy, according to SSS.

Other features include:

• IMX500 acquires metadata (or semantic information) which is sent to a back-end system where it's combined with content-streaming information and purchasing data to conduct an advertising effectiveness analysis. 
• IMX500 saves space in the store and can enable the entire process from imaging to AI inference on a single sensor. IMX500-equipped edge devices are compact (approximately 2.2 inches x 1.5 inches x 1.4 inches) and unobtrusive, including in c-stores and smaller spaces.
• The Aitrios platform contributes to "operational stability and system expandability," per the release. Only “light” metadata is output from IMX500 edge devices, minimizing the amount of data transmitted to the cloud. This helps lessen network load, even when adding more devices in multiple stores, compared to solutions that send full image data to the cloud. 

Aitrios is SSS' edge AI-sensing platform, which is used to build and operate the in-store solution and does not require third-party tools.

[Also Read: Sony’s AI Sensing Platform Expands With Retail Partnerships]

The IMX500 solution was developed with Console Enterprise Edition, one of the services offered by Aitrios, and is installed on the partner's Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. It was created to equip retailer and brand partners with AI-driven tools that evaluate the effectiveness of advertising and help ensure better branded content is shown.