Aspects of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus comprising: a substrate; communication circuitry deposited on said substrate; and ballot circuitry deposited on said substrate. The ballot circuitry comprises: a plurality of voting circuitry elements, each voting circuitry element being responsive to a voting operation to change a conductive state of that voting circuitry element; and logic circuitry communicatively coupled with each of the plurality of voting circuitry elements and with the communication circuitry. The logic circuitry is configured to: detect the conductive state of each of the plurality of voting circuitry elements; and transmit, via the communication circuitry and based on the conductive state of each of the plurality of voting circuitry elements, a voting result.

A method for designing and constructing a thin programmable dynamic credential card is disclosed. The thin programmable dynamic credential card may comprise multiple layers, including a top surface layer containing an opening through which a graphical display system below the top surface layer can be viewed. The graphical display system is configured to present at least one coded image. The at least one coded image is determined based at least in part on context data associated with a context of the programmable credential card.

A card reader includes a digital connector such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) plug or an Apple® Lightning® plug. The digital connector includes a corresponding connector interface, which provides voltage to at least a card reader interface and an integrated circuit (IC) of the card reader. The card reader interface outputs an analog transaction information signal upon reading the card. The IC generates a digital version of the analog transaction information signal, encrypts the digital version, converts that into an analog audio signal. The audio signal can then be sent to the connector interface, which converts it into a digital signal such as a USB or Apple® Lightning® signal that is sent by the digital connector to a mobile device. Alternately, the audio signal can be sent to a microcontroller that converts the audio signal to a digital format such as USB, and then to the digital connector.

Systems and methods provided herein may include a card replacement system. The system may include an automated teller machine in data communication with a server. The automated teller machine may include an input device; a processor; a replacement card storage containing at least one replacement card, wherein the at least one replacement cards may include a magnetic stripe and a chip; a magnetic stripe writer; a chip writer; and an embossing device. The processor may be configured to: receive a replacement card request via the input device; request replacement card information from the server; encode replacement card information onto the replacement card using the magnetic stripe writer and the chip writer; and emboss user information onto the replacement card using the embossing device.

The present invention discloses a method for predicting a tag arrival rate of a mobile Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system. The method includes: first, establishing a dynamic tag arrival model for a mobile RFID system based on modeling data and a grey model GM(1, 1); improving a weight of an initial value of a differential equation of the grey model through weighting; and predicating a tag arrival rate based on a sliding window mechanism. A weighted grey model predication algorithm based on the sliding window mechanism can be obtained, to predicate a tag arrival rate of a mobile RFID system. The method for predicting the tag arrival rate of the mobile RFID system of the present invention can reduce a prediction error rate of the system, maintain a modeling length of 4 for the system through the sliding window mechanism, and update modeling data online.

A pill bottle for prescribed pills includes: a circular top portion having an aperture; a circular bottom portion; walls that form a cylinder and connect the circular top portion with the circular bottom portion; and a pattern of electrically conductive ink disposed on an exterior surface of the walls.

A pill bottle for prescribed pills includes: a circular top portion having an aperture; a circular bottom portion; walls that form a cylinder and connect the circular top portion with the circular bottom portion; and a pattern of electrically conductive ink disposed on an exterior surface of the walls.

In a card reader, an interfering magnetic field generation mechanism 11 includes a core part 14a, a core part 14b, and a core part 15a, each of which is formed of soft magnetic material in a straight line, a coil 16 that is wound around the core part 14a, a coil 17 that is connected to the coil 16 in series and is wound around the core part 14b, a coil 18 that is wound around the core part 15a, a first drive circuit that supplies alternating current to the coils 16 and 17, and a second drive circuit that supplies alternating current to the coil 18. The core part 15a is disposed between the core part 14a and the core part 14b. The core part 15a is formed independently of the core parts 14a and 14b, and is separated from the core parts 14a and 14b.

In a card reader, an interfering magnetic field generation mechanism 11 includes a core part 14a, a core part 14b, and a core part 15a, each of which is formed of soft magnetic material in a straight line, a coil 16 that is wound around the core part 14a, a coil 17 that is connected to the coil 16 in series and is wound around the core part 14b, a coil 18 that is wound around the core part 15a, a first drive circuit that supplies alternating current to the coils 16 and 17, and a second drive circuit that supplies alternating current to the coil 18. The core part 15a is disposed between the core part 14a and the core part 14b. The core part 15a is formed independently of the core parts 14a and 14b, and is separated from the core parts 14a and 14b.

Methods and apparatus for detecting the retention of a car key by a customer after return of a rental car are disclosed. A plurality of RFID tags having a common identifier are attached to the rental car keys. The shuttle bus or other facility exit is equipped with a detection portal configured to detect a RFID tag having the common identifier and provide a signal upon detection of the RFID tag to a monitor that provides an alert upon receipt of the signal.