Abstract: Methods and systems for facilitating a program with participating merchants and consumers are described. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving a wish list of a user. The wish list may include items or services sold by merchants participating in the program. The wish list may be published to the merchants participating in the program. A location of the user may be determined, and an offer from one of the participating merchants may be received, where the offer is based on the location of the user. A total cost of the offer may be calculated by analyzing the offer. The user may be notified of the offer and the total cost.

Abstract: The invention teaches a value exchange for natural resources that is transparent and assured by a layer of distributed trust where tokenized inventory collateralizes derivative products, which enables the inventory to be monetized while located anywhere in the world including in major buying hubs, whereby suppliers, buyers and market makers can execute and settle authenticated transactions, both outright sales and derivative transactions, for natural resources in near real time.

Abstract: Operation of a materials handling vehicle is monitored for impacts by generating an electrical impact signal indicative of a force measurement electronically read from a sensor mounted on the materials handling vehicle, generating an electrical impulse signal indicative of a change of momentum of the materials handling vehicle, and outputting an electrical impact alarm signal when the electrical impact signal exceeds a selected force limit threshold and the electrical impulse signal exceeds an impulse signal limit within a predetermined time period.

Abstract: An electronic indication of a nil pick is received. Item information associated with the desired product, sales data concerning the desired product, supply chain information associated with the desired product, and a perpetual inventory (PI) value of the desired product are stored. An adjustment to the PI of the desired product is blocked when a predetermined event occurs at the retail store, or when information that contradicts the validity of the nil pick is received from the retail store. When the adjustment to the PI of the desired product is not blocked, an amount of the adjustment is determined based upon one or more of: the item information associated with the product, the sales data concerning the product, and the supply chain information associated with the desired product.

Abstract: In one embodiment, transferring payment between a first user and a second user of a communication system includes displaying a contact list in a user interface of a client executed at a user terminal of the first user, the contact list including the second user. The client retrieves and displays at least one page from a payment provider responsive to the first user selecting the second user from the contact list. The client transmits, to the payment provider, information related to the payment entered into the page by the first user, which causes the payment provider to transfer the payment from an account of the first user to an account of the second user.

Abstract: A spending analysis display is provided that includes first, second, and third display regions, wherein an uncategorized financial transaction of the first display region is selectable by a user, and a sweeping motion toward either the second or third display region categorizes the selected uncategorized financial transaction under a financial transaction category represented by the second or third display region that is positioned in the direction of the sweeping motion.

Abstract: A service request resolution system for resolving requests from customers, the system including a plan maintenance component, including one or more processors, to maintain plans that include an inventory data structure detailing inventory of a plurality of customers, an expert guidance maintenance component including a request resolution data structure including possible actions to resolve requests in respect of items of inventory detailed in the inventory data structure, and an expert guidance system, including one or more processors, operable to dynamically activate and/or deactivate components of the request resolution data structure, the activation or deactivation of components effected according to the plan of a specific customer.

Abstract: Methods and corresponding system are provided herewith that, in at least one embodiment, include the act or acts of: receiving a request to reserve a service that is provided by a restaurant. The request to reserve is for a particular time and a particular date and the service comprises at least one of: (i) preparing a consumable good that is consumed at the restaurant's location; (ii) preparing a consumable good that is received at the restaurant's location; or (iii) preparing a consumable good that is delivered to a location external to the restaurant's location. The methods and system also include comparing the particular time requested with a schedule associated with the restaurant. The schedule comprises a list of times that are available for reservation. The methods and system also include determining an availability of the request to reserve; and outputting an indicia that the request to reserve the service has been accepted or denied.

Abstract: A computing device of an entity associated with a service provider receives information from instances of an application executing on user devices associated with the entity. The application is provided to the entity by the service provider. The entity device determines a user characteristic based on the information and provisions temporary access to a service functionality associated with a service that benefits the entity to the user device based on the user characteristic. The entity device may receive first data from the user device corresponding to the use of the service functionality. The entity device may generate aggregated data by aggregating the first data with second data received from another personal device being operated by another user and may send the aggregated data to the service provider to update databases storing third data associated with the service functionality.

Abstract: The disclosure describes a peer-to-peer consensus system and method for achieving consensus in tracking transferrable digital objects. The system achieves consensus on a shared ledger between a plurality of peers and prevents double spending in light of network latency, data corruption and intentional manipulation of the system. Consensus is achieved and double spending is prevented via the use of the most committed stake metric to choose a single consensus transaction record. A trustable record is also facilitated by allowing stakeholders to elect a set of trusted non-colluding parties to cooperatively add transactions to the consensus record. The voting mechanism is a real-time auditable stake weighted approval voting mechanism. This voting mechanism has far reaching applications such as vote directed capital and providing a trusted source for data input into a digital consensus system. The system further enables digital assets that track the value of conventional assets with low counterparty risk.

Abstract: A greeting card stored-value card combinations and methods of forming said combinations are provided. In one embodiment, these combinations include a greeting card comprising means for affixing a stored-value card thereto. These combinations also include a stored-value card affixed to the greeting card. A single identifier, such as a Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU) or a Universal Product Code (UPC), is assigned to the bundle that uniquely identifies the bundled greeting card and stored-value card. The single identifier provides identification means allowing the stored-value card to be activated. A single capture of the single identifier enables the customer to both purchase the greeting card stored-value card combination product as well as to activate the store-value card.

Abstract: A method and system for automated vehicle transportation is disclosed that allows a car shipper, such as a car dealer, to ship a car automatically from a computer or smart phone, and have the car accepted directly electronically by an auto transport trucker on a smartphone to pick up and deliver. The user by enters the vehicle on a website or mobile application, and the auto transporter selects the car for pick up by tapping on a mobile application on a smartphone. The transaction is handled automatically by the system, and manual communication such as phone calls and faxes and paperwork are not required. The system also tracks the location of the vehicle via the transporter's smartphone and displays the real-time location to the customer. The payment may be collected electronically from the customer, and automatically paid to the transporter electronically. A video bill of lading is also provided.

Abstract: An operating system for a retail store applies AI to detect, from images of store shelves, out of stock and low stock conditions of shelved items based on camera images. The system takes in a set of input states of the store and recommends corrective action to optimize a set of objectives for the store. These objectives could be to optimize Operating Profit. The input states could be current shelf conditions inferred by shelf cameras. The action could be ordering of restocking, changes in future inventory orders, the number of shelf facings per product, price to charge per product, or labor allocations and scheduling for store staff. Through repeated reiterations over an extended period, the system compares actual results with predicted results and retrains itself to minimize the difference and recommend smarter actions over time to “play the game of retail” better and better each day and in each store.

Abstract: A product sales data processing system includes: a sensor attached to a bulk food container of a product; and a weighing apparatus. The sensor includes: a sensor module that detects displacement of the sensor; a memory that stores a sensor ID that identifies the sensor; and a transmitter that transmits the sensor ID stored in the memory when the sensor module detects a predetermined displacement value. The weighing apparatus includes: a receiver that receives the sensor ID transmitted from the sensor; and a display that displays product information associated with the sensor ID.

Abstract: Robots and/or a robot coordinator are provided to execute an overall task by partitioning the task into subtasks and by coalescing results and/or output of the subtasks. The robot coordinator may coordinate, control, and/or program a set of robots to operate within different sections of a site and to execute subtasks associated with different tasks that fall within their respective sections in parallel. The robot coordinator may coordinate, control, and/or program the same or different set of robots to coalesce results and/or output for subtasks for a particular task from the different sections to complete the overall task. For instance, a first set of robots may retrieve objects that are stored at storage locations within the sections in which each robot operates, and a second set of robots may rotate moveable storage apparatus across the sections so that each storage apparatus stores all objects of a particular order.

Abstract: A system and method for automated order preparation and fulfillment timing. The system is a cloud-based network containing an optimization server, portals for restaurants, customers, and drivers to enter their information, and an optimization engine which determines an optimal state for consumption of, and timing for fulfillment of, an order based on a multitude of variables associated with the business enterprises and delivery driver availability. The system may be accessed through web browsers or purpose-built computer and mobile phone applications.

Abstract: A data structure programmatically links the first product to a second product. The second product is historically purchased by the customer whenever the customer has also purchased the first product. A determination is made as to whether the customer purchased the second product together with the first product based upon the sales data. When the customer has failed to purchase the second product with the first product, instructions are transmitted to the retail store over the network to perform a verification that the second product is out-of-stock. An outcome of the verification from the retail store is received via the network. A determination is made as to a level of certainty that the second product is actually out-of-stock based upon an analysis of the sales data and the outcome of the verification. When the level of certainty exceeds a predetermined threshold, the PI value is adjusted to zero.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for making purchases at a merchant point-of-sale (POS) device using a mobile device. Transaction information may be communicated from the POS device to the mobile device and an authorization from the purchaser to proceed with the transaction returned to the POS device from the mobile device. After authorization, the POS device may communicate the transaction information together with an identifier of the mobile device to a financial institution to process payment. The financial institution may confirm the transaction with the purchaser at the mobile device using the identifier of the mobile device. Upon receiving a confirmation response from the mobile device, the financial institution may then transfer funds from a purchaser account to a merchant account.

Abstract: A wrist terminal includes a communicator, timer, and at least one processor. The communicator receives a beacon ID transmitted from a beacon transmitter installed in a workplace. The timer obtains date-and-time information on a date and time at which the communicator receives the beacon ID. The processor performs a determining process and recording process. In the determining process, the processor determines whether a work status in the workplace is a work start or a work end, based on a state of the wrist terminal when the communicator receives the beacon ID. In the recording process, the processor records, in a storage, log information that includes the date-and-time information obtained by the timer and work status information on the work status determined in the determining process, the date-and-time information and the work status information being associated with each other.

Abstract: Methods and corresponding system are provided herewith that, in at least one embodiment, include the act or acts of: determining that a service provided by a restaurant is available for bidding. The service is provided for a particular time and a particular date. The methods and system also include receiving a bid for the service provided by the restaurant, in which the bid is associated with a first amount; storing the bid with a plurality of other bids in a storage device; and comparing the bid with at least one other bid that is submitted for reserving the service. The at least one other bid is associated with a second amount. The methods and system also include determining that the first amount is greater than the second amount; and outputting an indicia that grants the request to reserve the service provided by the restaurant to a highest bidder, in which the first amount submitted by the highest bidder is greater than the second amount.