Findbox: Helps You Find Things

All people have to go shopping at one point, either caused by a desperate need for that desired item, or one's mom or girlfriend who, sometimes literally, drags him out to the store to endure painful hours of shopping for things he does not need. Most of the time, people tend to encounter frustration finding that certain product they need. Asking employees for help is a hit or miss; they could have full knowledge of what goes on in the store, or be complete buffoons, wasting precious time that could be spent on relaxing. Most unfortunately, the item could be out of stock, so one could waste hours of searching for no gain. Fortunately, Findbox GmbH, a company originating from Germany, has developed a possible solution. The solution is called Findbox, a kiosk that scans an item that you want and determines if a replacement is available and directs them to where they can find the item. Findbox works by creating a mesh when the customer scans the desired item through Findbox's multicamera system. From there, the kiosk then uses that mesh and search for a near identical item in the store's database based on colour, icons, text, logos, and shape, and usually finds the item in about 3 seconds. If none are found, then the customer can manually search function with its built in keyboard. and, if both fail, then Findbox offers alternatives, complementary items, or even have the item shipped to your home. The company also features a Findbox app which allows anyone to take a picture of the item and upload it into the Findbox database to try and find a match, and which store that item is in. Findbox also helps retailers by informing them of items that need to be reordered and track inventory. Findbox currently costs US$260-$388 per month, but it is unknown whether retailers actually use them or not. To view more details about Findbox, go to the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/findbox-kiosk-scanner-shopping/33697/