Spotter
In-store displays that understand who is in front of them, without knowing who they are.
01 The context
The idea dates to October 2016: in-store advertising shows the same spot to everyone who walks by, while digital advertising that profiles people is effective but is becoming illegal — rightly so. In between there was room for a third way: understanding who is in front of you without knowing who they are.
The patent protecting it — «Multimedia system for message distribution», IT 102021000000185 — was filed with my brother and granted in January 2023. The pilot demo starts in summer 2026 with ten shops in Rome.
02 The choices, and the reasons
Recognition stays on the device
Analysis happens only on board. Only aggregated counts travel to the server — age range, gender, glances — never images, never identities, never GDPR Article 9 data. It's not a limitation accepted reluctantly: it is the design.
The qualified impression as the unit of measure
We don't count walk-bys, we count glances of at least two seconds. It's the only metric a shopkeeper can compare with what they pay: a distracted walk-by is worth nothing, a glance is.
Patent first, product second
The idea was precise enough to be protected before being built. The 2023 grant confirmed that the mechanism — a network of displays choosing what to show based on who is in front of them, without identifying anyone — was new.
03 The product
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