How We Transformed
Ice Cream Freezers
with Cloud IoT Solutions
About
The Project
We collaborated with a global food industry leader to develop a proof of concept (POC) for self-checkout ice cream freezers in supermarkets. The goal was to test the South American market, understand consumer buying patterns, and optimize the checkout experience. Each freezer had 15 baskets arranged in a 5×3 grid, stocked with different ice cream flavors. To streamline the process, we built a custom tablet running on a lightweight Debian-based OS with a Svelte app integrated with AWS IoT. This setup made checkout easy and gave real-time data to improve sales.
The
Challenge
Rolling out the software across thousands of ice cream freezers in South America came with several challenges:
- Telemetry Data Management:
Handling large volumes of real-time data on regional sales, product performance, and device health while ensuring easy tracking.
- Remote Software Updates:
Keeping all the freezers up-to-date without manual intervention, even in remote locations.
- Low-latency Networks:
Ensuring smooth performance in areas with unstable internet connectivity.
- Hardware Constraints:
Managing data transfer and device monitoring with IoT-enabled freezers that had limited processing power and storage.
- Ease of Use:
Designing an intuitive interface for customers and store staff, ensuring frictionless adoption.
The Solution
To address these challenges, we developed a robust multi-layered solution:
Intelligent Sensor Integration:
Weight sensors identified ice cream products by their weight, automating the checkout process when the freezer door closed.
Cloud-based Device Management:
Leveraging AWS, we enabled seamless remote software management, data capture and insights, bug fixes, and real-time monitoring.
Telemetry Data Transfer:
Using MQTT, we ensured the light and efficient transfer of telemetry data in networks with limited bandwidth for real-time insights.
Actionable Insights
Used AWS IoT to process large volumes of data, helping them track sales, product performance, and device health through easy-to-read dashboards for smarter decisions.
As a result, we launched the new web and mobile applications that existing users can seamlessly start using and any new users can sign up and create their content effortlessly.
Key Results
15% increase in sales in key markets due to data-driven decisions on ice cream flavors and regional optimization.
Enhanced operational efficiency with real-time insights into device health and sales performance.
Seamless deployment across thousands of devices in remote regions with low internet speeds.
Automated checkout process for ice cream freezers, improving customer experience across supermarkets
