What is lift and learn? Methods and trade-offs
What lift and learn is, the four ways to detect a pickup (pads, tags, touch, cameras), their trade-offs and what each lets you measure.
- Home
- Vs sensor lift and learn
Camera-based vs sensor or tag-based lift and learn
Both put the right content on the screen when a product is picked up. They differ in what has to be attached to the products and in what you learn about shoppers.
Sensor and tag systems detect a lift through hardware on or under each product. Camera-based systems like GoTrack recognise the product in the shopper's hand with cameras, so nothing is attached, and the same cameras also measure hold time and put-backs.
Side by side
| Question | Sensors or tags | GoTrack (cameras) |
|---|---|---|
| What goes on each product? | A sensor, pad or tag | Nothing |
| What happens when the range changes? | Hardware is re-fitted or re-tagged | Products are added in the panel |
| Must a camera see the product? | No | Yes |
| Hold time and put-backs? | Depends on the system | Yes, per product and colour |
| Two products at once? | Depends on the system | Yes, both share the screen |
| Works without internet? | Depends on the system | Yes, in the store |
When sensors or tags are the better choice
- Products a camera cannot see clearly: very small items, closed boxes, deep shelves.
- Displays with a handful of fixed products that never change.
- Places where no camera may be installed at all.
- Check the details with each vendor: systems differ.
Questions
Can GoTrack do lift and learn without sensors?
Yes. When a shopper picks up a product, the screen beside it shows that product's content. GoTrack uses cameras, so there are no sensors, tags or pads on the products, and no touchscreen is needed.
Which cameras does GoTrack use? Do I need an AI camera?
No special AI camera is needed: the AI runs in GoTrack's software on the store device. Standard IP cameras (RTSP, ONVIF) or USB webcams with good enough image quality do the job; we can supply them if you prefer. What matters is placement: to see the products clearly and correctly, a camera sits at the right distance from them, not too close and not too far, and we choose the spot together during setup. Ceiling security cameras are usually too far from the products to see what is in a shopper's hand.
Which products does GoTrack work best with?
Garments on racks and shelves, and shoe walls — products a shopper picks up to look at. A garment's size is not read from the image.
What happens if the store's internet goes down?
Recognition, screens and event recording carry on in the store. Screens play their stored content, and events wait on the device and are sent with their real times when the connection returns. In our test on 4 September 2026, every showing during a 7-minute outage reached the screen and its record reached the cloud afterwards.
Further reading
See camera-based lift and learn.
We will show it on products like yours.
or write to info@gotonom.com