A required time prediction apparatus (2000) acquires utilization facility information and assumed date and time information. The utilization facility information is information enabling to determine a departure facility and a destination facility. The assumed date and time information is information enabling to determine an assumed departure date and time assuming departure from the departure facility or an assumed arrival date and time assuming arrival at the destination facility. The apparatus (2000) estimates a waiting time at each facility being present between the departure facility and the destination facility, regarding a case of assuming departure from the departure facility at the assumed departure date and time, or a case of assuming arrival at the destination facility at the assumed arrival date and time. Then, the apparatus (2000) computes, based on the estimated waiting time, a predicted required time from departure from the departure facility to arrival at the destination facility.

Improved techniques for examining a plurality of distinct recordings pertaining to user interactions with one or more software applications, where each recording concerns performing at least one task. The examined recordings can be processed such that the recordings can be organized and/or rendered in a consolidated manner which facilitates user's understanding of higher-level operations being performed by the examined recordings to carry out the associated task. As one embodiment, a robotic process automation system can, for example, operate to: acquire a plurality of recordings, the recordings include a series of user interactions with one or more application programs, the recordings being acquired via the robotic process automation system; identify repeating sequences of user interactions within the recordings; select at least one of the identified repeating sequences that occurs more often; create a first level pattern for the selected at least one of the identified repeating sequences; and associate a descriptive label to the first level pattern created for the selected at least one of the identified repeating sequences.

Improved techniques for examining a plurality of distinct recordings pertaining to user interactions with one or more software applications, where each recording concerns performing at least one task. The examined recordings can be processed such that the recordings can be organized and/or rendered in a consolidated manner which facilitates user's understanding of higher-level operations being performed by the examined recordings to carry out the associated task. Advantageously, the improved techniques enable a robotic process automation (RPA) system to recognize and represent repetitive tasks within multiple recordings as multi-level (e.g., hierarchical) patterns of steps, sub-tasks, or some combination thereof. In doing so, a RPA system can identify and define such patterns within recordings and can also accommodate variants in such patterns. The resulting multi-level representation of the recordings allows users to better understand and visualize what tasks or sub-tasks are being carried out by portions of the recordings.

Improved techniques for combining human tasks and robotic tasks in an organized manner to define an automation workflow process. A workflow process platform can assist a developer in creating an automation workflow process, and/or manage performance of an automation workflow process. The improved techniques enable a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) system to support programmatically combining various robotic tasks with human actions to provide an interrelated relationship of both human tasks and automated tasks.

A computer-implemented method for improving efficiency in an electronic procurement system for sourcing resources, comprising, during digital electronic interactions of a buyer computer with one or more software platforms and without receiving explicit request for recommendations from the buyer computer: automatically generating, at a coding computer, implicit observation data of the buyer computer; automatically determining, at the coding computer, one or more active sourcing events from a plurality of sourcing events, based on at least the implicit observation data of the buyer computer; using the coding computer, causing to display at least one of the one or more active sourcing events in a graphical user interface.

The present disclosure relates to an Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and a method for controlling a balance rate of a production line. The Industrial IoT includes an user platform, a service platform, a management platform, a sensor network platform, and an object platform interacting in sequence, the service platform adopts a centralized arrangement, the management platform adopts an independent arrangement, and the sensor network platform adopts a rear sub-platform arrangement.

A method for managing customers for a store includes generating first account identification information from stored account information of a customer. The method also includes transmitting a list of candidate payees within a predefined distance of a current geolocation of a personal communication device of the customer and identifying the store as a party to a transaction with the customer based on feedback. The method still further includes receiving, from the store, a transaction message indicating the customer is a counterparty to the transaction, the transaction message comprising second account identification information received at the communication device of the store from the customer. The method also includes determining the first account identification information matches the second account identification information. The method further includes approving the transaction between the customer and the store in response to determining the first account identification information matches the second account identification information and identifying the store as the party to the transaction.

A method for managing customers for a store includes generating first account identification information from stored account information of a customer. The method also includes transmitting a list of candidate payees within a predefined distance of a current geolocation of a personal communication device of the customer and identifying the store as a party to a transaction with the customer based on feedback. The method still further includes receiving, from the store, a transaction message indicating the customer is a counterparty to the transaction, the transaction message comprising second account identification information received at the communication device of the store from the customer. The method also includes determining the first account identification information matches the second account identification information. The method further includes approving the transaction between the customer and the store in response to determining the first account identification information matches the second account identification information and identifying the store as the party to the transaction.

According to one embodiment, an information collection system comprises a transmitter, a receiver, and a processor. The transmitter emits a signal. The receiver receives the signal. The processor calculates a distance between the transmitter and the receiver from a strength of the signal received by the receiver. The processor calculating the distance between the transmitter and the receiver from the strength of the signal for each of the signals received during a first interval, and using an average distance as the distance between the transmitter and the receiver, the average distance being obtained by averaging the plurality of calculated distances.

An engineering support system that supports engineering of a process control system, the engineering support system includes: a server device that creates a work list including work order information that specifies a work order of work included in the process control system; and at least one client device that gives work authority to each worker based on the work list issued by the server device and that enables work on devices included in the process control system within a scope of given work authority to be implemented in the work order.