A method and apparatus for reader device registration, activation, and use are described. The method may include receiving, by a commerce platform, a registration request generated by a reader device, wherein the registration request comprises at least identification data for the reader device. The method may also include transmitting, to the reader device, a registration code. The method may also include receiving, by the commerce platform from a merchant system, a second registration code purported to be the registration code transmitted to the reader device. The method may also include generating an encryption key associated with the reader device and transmitting the encryption key to the merchant system, wherein the encryption key is provided by merchant system to the reader device for use by the reader device when communicating with the commerce platform during merchant transactions.

A method of auxiliary data capture control includes: storing, at a data capture device, (i) detection criteria corresponding to events having respective event identifiers; and (ii) a registration indicator associated with at least one of the event identifiers; controlling a primary data capture sensor to obtain primary captured data; in response to detecting, based on the primary captured data, that the detection criteria are satisfied for a detected one of the event identifiers, determining whether the registration indicator is associated with the detected event identifier; and when the registration indicator is associated with the detected event identifier, controlling an auxiliary data capture sensor to obtain auxiliary captured data.

An automated system/method for identifying and enabling viewer selection/purchase of products or services associated with digital content presented on a display device. Products within the digital content are identified and existing product placement data is ascertained. For products that do not include such data, other methodologies, with the assistance of third-party servers, are employed to assess identity and purchase availability. Viewer input designate products to assess or products can be automatically assessed. Viewers initiate purchase of identified products via the display device or other electronic devices controlled by viewers, such as via viewers' smart phones. Various processes for identifying products include use of AI processing, access to data on third-party servers, crowd sourcing and other methodologies. Various techniques for selecting products for purchases are employed including employing 3D codes (e.g., QR codes) alongside presented products to enable other portable electronic devices to facilitate purchase. Other features are described.

An electronic apparatus operated by a sales clerk includes a display, a camera configured to capture an image of a code displayed on a screen of a portable registration apparatus operated by a customer in a store, the code corresponding to one or more commodities to be purchased and check data indicating whether each of said one or more commodities needs to be checked by the sales clerk before being checked out, and a processor configured to, when the image of the code is captured by the camera, acquire information indicating said one or more commodities to be purchased and the check data using the code, and control the display to display a screen showing one or more commodities that need to be checked by the sales clerk based on the acquired information.

A management server includes a processor and communication interface to communicate with a user terminal and a communication device at a location in a store. When the processor receives a terminal code and shopping basket tag information from the user terminal, the processor stores the terminal code in association with the tag information and status information indicating a settlement process has not been completed. Upon receipt of a commodity code from the user terminal, the processor registers the code as commodity in a sales transaction. When the settlement process is completed for sales transaction, the processor updates the status information to indicate the settlement process has been completed. If the tag information is received from the first communication device, the processor issues a notification when the settlement has not been completed.

According to one embodiment, a commodity reading device includes a hand-held scanner configured to read a code symbol on a commodity, a fixed scanner configured to read a code symbol on a commodity by capturing an image of the code symbol, and a processor. The processor is configured to detect the code symbol in the image captured by the fixed scanner, extract commodity information for identifying the commodity from the detected code symbol, and provide a notification to a user when a time between the detection of the code symbol and the extracting of the commodity information exceeds a preset threshold length of time, the notification indicating that the hand-held scanner is available to read the code symbol.

An item exception is detected as being raised within a transaction workflow for a self-service transaction at a transaction terminal. Item descriptive information for an item that caused the item exception to be raised is obtained. When the workflow indicates that an attendant has logged into the terminal to address the item exception, the item descriptive information is rendered on a display of the terminal along with item exception details provided by the workflow.

In some arrangements, product packaging is digitally watermarked over most of its extent to facilitate high-throughput item identification at retail checkouts. Imagery captured by conventional or plenoptic cameras can be processed (e.g., by GPUs) to derive several different perspective-transformed views—further minimizing the need to manually reposition items for identification. Crinkles and other deformations in product packaging can be optically sensed, allowing such surfaces to be virtually flattened to aid identification. Piles of items can be 3D-modelled and virtually segmented into geometric primitives to aid identification, and to discover locations of obscured items. Other data (e.g., including data from sensors in aisles, shelves and carts, and gaze tracking for clues about visual saliency) can be used in assessing identification hypotheses about an item. Logos may be identified and used—or ignored—in product identification. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

In general, in one aspect, one or more embodiments relate to a method including receiving, in a business rules engine, input data from disparate data sources. The input data describes a merchant and an application by the merchant to use an electronic payments system for processing transactions between the merchant and customers. Featurization is performed on the input data to form a machine readable vector. By applying the machine readable vector as input to a machine learning model in a machine learning layer, a risk score is predicted. The machine learning model is trained using training data describing use of the electronic payments system by other merchants. The risk score is an estimated probability of the merchant being unable to satisfy an obligation of using the electronic payments system. A business rules engine, based on the risk score, limits use of the electronic payments system by the merchant.

A method of ordering a new optical article definable based on features of an initial optical article including at least a lens, the method including the following steps: —acquiring an identifier by capturing a marking carried by the lens of the initial optical article; —sending, by an electronic device, the identifier and an order for the new optical article. A corresponding apparatus and a corresponding method for launching production of the new optical article are also described.