Traditional checkout system at stores is extremely inefficient. The cashier has to scan the barcode of each item individually. This inefficiency creates a long line at the checkout, wasting customers’ time and decrease shops’ revenue. We propose an automated checkout system based on Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. RFID uniquely identifies the goods it tags by transmitting a pre programmed identification number when queried. With program that identifies clusters of RFID tags, the goods in the same basket can be all checked out at the same time. The RFID-based checkout system is automatic and efficient. The research aims to build such a checkout system that will hopefully replace the traditional system one day.

Having taken system design classes, I am excited to apply system design ideas to the real world problem. I have done a number of UROPs in the past. Each UROP is a valuable research experience that taught me to discover the problem, design and execute the solution.