Zylox - Retail Locker Pickup Station

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the world as we know it. The principal change is a matter of pace. COVID-19 has turbocharged the shift to online shopping. Consumers across the globe are looking at products and brands through a new ways. Even as social-distancing rules ease, this trend will consolidate. Many bricks-and-mortar shops are in trouble, particularly those in shopping centres.

As we know, there are many traditional markets, wholesale markets, and other shopping centres has been temporary closed for business after new coronavirus cluster infections were detected in that areas.

So this project is a response to the changes being wrought on the retail sector by COVID-19. One of the solutions is creating digital transformation which is containing :

• Digitalize fields and
• Automate operations
  

The first one, DIGITALIZATION.

The current shopping restrictions in place as a result of Covid-19 - things like checking body temperature, social distancing, wearing mask, closed changing rooms, intense cleaning procedures, quarantining goods, the inability for multiple customers to touch the same things consecutively –

with all these restrictions, consumers are going to need a really good reason to go to the shopping centres.

Shopping online is the new normal. The challenge is how to make it more easy, fun, get a new feel and new experiences. However this is not included in this project. We believe that individuals with Information and Technology background or Android / IOS Developers simply enjoy finding solutions for this.

Second. AUTOMATION

This is the focus of this project. How it works?

• Customer put an order online, and choose the delivery methods
• And than pay for it.
• The system will send notification to the seller and generate a unique QR code
• Order are prepared and packed
• Seller go to the Pick and Drop Station Locker. Scanning QR code, and the locker will open. Drop the parcel and close the locker will notify the customer and system will generate and send a unique QR code to the customer or delivery man.
• If Customer choose self-delivery, they have to go the the Pick and Drop Station Locker, and take out the parcel by scanning the QR code.
• Otherwise, delivery man will pick up the parcel by scanning the QR code
• And then delivering the parcel to Customer location

We made a small 2x2 locker, and already have the controller named Zylox. All of designs including the schematic, pcb design, firmware and CAD files all available. Feel free to replicate and modified it as your need.

Basically Zylox doesn't support any high-end sensors, but we can use serial communication to interact and control it. So adding another circuit that can connect to internet and scan a barcode is a must. We can also replace it with Rasberry Pi or Mini PC with camera capabilities.

To do this, adding a simple ESP8266 to connect internet and Barcode Scanner Module is the simple way.