IoT-Enabled Autonomous Customer-Following Smart Carts: Design and Evaluation

Abstract

In modern metropolitan areas, shopping malls often experience heavy customer traffic, especially during weekends and festive seasons, leading to long queues at billing counters. Traditional checkout systems rely on manual barcode scanning, which increases waiting time and reduces shopping efficiency. This project introduces an autonomous smart cart integrated with IoT-based technology to enable seamless, real-time billing inside the trolley itself. Each product in the store is equipped with an RFID tag, while every cart contains an RFID reader, a microcontroller, and an LCD interface. When a customer places an item inside the cart, the RFID reader identifies it automatically, and the item details along with its price are displayed and added to the total bill. If an item is removed, the amount is instantly adjusted. The billing data is synchronized with a central server through Wi-Fi, enabling instant checkout and eliminating the need for manual billing. This system significantly reduces customer waiting time, enhances shopping convenience, and provides a step forward toward smart retail automation.