Intelligent Cokes and Diapers: MyGROCER Ubiquitous Computing Environment

Over the past years, significant developments in mobile technologies and associated economies of scale via mature manufacturing processes have made the construction of ubiquitous computing applications possible in specific domains. This paper presents the business rationale and the architectural framework of an innovative ubiquitous computing application for the grocery sector (MyGROCER). MyGROCER exploits the opportunities provided by emerging wireless and mobile commerce technologies, coupled with automatic product identification technologies (RF-Id), in order to enable an efficient home replenishment schema, enhance the quality of service provided by retailers, and ultimately add value to the end-consumer. We present the architectural elements of the application by identifying the design challenges and the way they were dealt with. The paper concludes with a critical appraisal of ubiquitous computing applications in supermarket environments and identifies future research challenges