Technology
Simple on the floor.
Rigorous underneath.
Knull is a connected system: units, docks, sessions and an operator platform. The engineering goal is that none of it is visible to a shopper and all of it is legible to an operator.
- Layers
- Unit · Dock · Platform
- Access
- QR · NFC
- Continuity
- Local-first
01System architecture
Four layers, one behaviour.
Each layer has a single responsibility, which is what keeps the shopper journey to a scan and a return.
- 01
Connected unit
Each trolley carries identity, access hardware, an interface and power management, and reports its own state.
Owns · Identity and condition
- 02
Dock infrastructure
Docks handle retention, release and charging, and act as the fixed anchor point of the network in each zone.
Owns · Custody and power
- 03
Session layer
Release, use and return are modelled as a single session with a clear start, state and close.
Owns · Start, state, close
- 04
Operator platform
Fleet, dock and session state are aggregated into the console operations and management teams work from.
Owns · Decisions and reporting
02Resilience
A destination cannot pause.
Trading days do not stop for a network incident. The system is designed so degraded conditions reduce insight, never access.
Local-first behaviour
Docks continue to release and accept units without a live connection, then reconcile sessions afterwards.
Charge during idle
Power management assumes units spend natural idle periods docked, so charging is not a scheduled task.
Predictable service
Units report service-relevant state so maintenance is planned rather than triggered by a complaint.
03Data principles
Useful to the operator, unobtrusive to the shopper.
Mobility data is commercially valuable, which is exactly why its handling has to be conservative and explainable.
Role-based access
Access is scoped by role and site, with an audit trail over sensitive actions.
Patterns, not people
Operational reporting is built on aggregate movement and utilisation patterns rather than individual tracking.
Minimal by default
A session needs very little from a shopper, and what is collected is bounded by that purpose.
Detailed technical, security and data processing documentation is shared under NDA during procurement.
Technology
Bring your technical team.
We are happy to run a session with facilities, IT and data stakeholders in the room.