The prototype of a shopping trolley fitted with a device to calculate the bill as one picks up goods, developed by a school student in Karur, promises to save not just time, but also add more value to the shopkeeper’s stock maintenance.
S.S. Vikas, a class 11 student of Sri Sankara Vidyalaya in Karur, has developed the model that uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and a small scanner fitted to a shopping trolley to help customers calculate the amount they are spending per item.
“I started working on this project two years ago, when in Class 9. At that time, my aim was to simply reduce the time shoppers spent waiting to be billed for their purchases. Since last year, with lockdown and social distancing norms, my prototype will actually be a safer way to shop if it is adopted commercially,” Vikas said in a telephone interview.
Vikas was helped by his teachers T. Satheesh Kumar and J. Rajasekharan in the design and execution of the project. Originally meant to be powered by electricity, the prototype now includes a battery alternative. In addition to the RFID, the device is being upgraded to be compatible with reading QR codes (a type of matrix barcode) as well. Neither type of coding requires the Internet to be functional.
Besides the price, additional information such as weight, dates of manufacture and expiry, may also be added to the RFID tags. “At the end of the day, the shopkeeper can tally his or her earnings with the devices on the trolleys,” added Vikas.
“Our school has many programmes for students aimed at innovative problem-solving. We have an Atal Tinkering Lab (a Central government initiative) on campus, which helps develop scientific and technological entrepreneurship skills. The automatic billing trolley was developed with the help of the lab,” said Mr. Satheesh Kumar. Most of the parts were sourced locally, he said.
Vikas was presented with a citation of ₹10,000 by the Department of Science and Technology’s ‘Inspire Awards - Manak’ in November 2019, to prepare a model of the trolley for exhibition and enrolment in district-level science fairs and competitions. It was recently exhibited at the CODISIA Trade Fair complex in Coimbatore.
Currently Vikas is studying Accountancy, and dreams of becoming a car designer one day.
Thanking his teachers and school for their support, he said, “I faced many challenges in designing the automatic billing trolley. I hope it will be widely used in shops soon.”
