In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for leveraging a social network to search for local inventory includes communicating with a first mobile communication device over a network, the first mobile communication device associated with a user, and communicating with a second mobile communication device over the network, the second mobile communication device associated with a social network contact. The method further includes obtaining a geo-location of the second mobile communication device, processing a search request from the first mobile communication device, obtaining a radius of coverage for a merchant, determining whether the geo-location of the second mobile communication device is within the radius of coverage of the merchant, and providing a listing to the first mobile communication device of one or more items for sale by the merchant when the second mobile communication device is within the radius of coverage of the merchant.

A method and a device for target finding are disclosed. The method for target finding includes collecting user demand information, determining the target according to user demand information, acquiring user position information and position information of the target, generating navigation information according to the position information of the target and the user position information, and outputting the navigation information.

A system for providing and/or collecting information relating to at least one object is provided. The system comprises a radio-frequency identification, RFID, tag that is provided proximate to the at least one object, the RFID tag being configured to enable detection of a position and/or a movement of the at least one object; a server device configured to receive position and/or movement data about the at least one object; and a mobile device configured to: identify the at least one object; send a request to the server device for object information about the identified at least one object; wherein: the server device is further configured to, in response to the request, provide to the mobile device targeted object information about the identified at least one object, the targeted object information being at least partially based on the position and/or movement data; and the mobile device is further configured to display the targeted object information.

Disclosed are systems and methods for mapping multiple views to an identity. The systems and methods may include receiving a plurality of images that depict an object. Attributes associated with the object may be extracted from the plurality of images. An identity of the object may be determined based on processing the attributes.

A system and method for mapping product locations that can include: receiving, through a digital delivery ordering service, a plurality of orders, wherein each order includes a product list of products for delivery from a retail environment; assigning each of the plurality of orders to a user account of a plurality of user accounts for fulfillment of the orders; building a location dataset associating location data points and products, comprising for each order: determining an order to be undergoing fulfillment in association with a mobile computing device linked with the user account of the order, during fulfillment of the order, collecting location data points for products of the product list using input from the mobile computing device; and processing the location dataset for associations between the location data points and products and thereby determining an updated product location map.

A method for automatically populating an ecommerce cart is disclosed. The method includes receiving a request to add a product item to a shopping cart of an ecommerce shopping environment. The method includes adding the product item to the shopping cart. The method includes updating, responsive to adding the product item, a shopping cart status. The method includes determining a failure of the shopping cart status to satisfy a purchasing criteria associated with the ecommerce shopping environment. The method includes selecting, responsive to determining the failure, an additional product item based on information associated with an user account. The method includes adding the additional product item to the shopping cart.

A system is provided for use in managing waste services performed by a service vehicle. The system may include a sensor configured to capture during completion of a waste service activity an image of waste set out for retrieval by the service vehicle, a portal, and a processor in communication with the sensor and the portal. The processor may be configured to execute instructions stored in memory to receive from a consumer via the portal at least one of a picture and a description of a desired item, to recognize an object in the image captured by the sensor, to make a determination regarding matching of the object with the desired item, and to selectively cause a notification to be displayed on the portal based on the determination.

The objective of the present invention is to automate settlement of the price of a product, when a purchaser purchases a product displayed in a shop, in order to reduce the time required for settlement of the price of the product, and to prevent fraud by the purchaser or the cashier. The present information processing system is provided with a moving object tracking means, a shelf product recognition means, and a settlement means. The moving object tracking means finds a moving object such as a shopper or a basket moving within a store, defines the region of the moving object, and captures images of the moving object while tracking the movement thereof. The shelf product recognition means constantly monitors the state within a shelf, and compares captured images before and after an object is removed from the shelf, a change in weight, or a change in a position signal. The product to be recognized is defined from the captured images, the weight, and position information, and the product is identified from the defined information. The settlement means settles payment for the identified product.

A first computing device for product ownership management is provided. The first computing device is communicatively coupled to a store management system of a retail store. The circuitry determines a first geo-location associated with the first computing device. The circuitry receives credit information, associated with a purchase of a first product by a first user of the first computing device, from the store management system. The credit information may include a second geo-location associated with purchase of the first product. The circuitry compares the first geo-location and the second geo-location and receives product information associated with the purchased first product, based on the comparison. The circuitry stores the received product information and further generates ownership information for the purchased first product via an ownership management software. The circuitry further controls a display screen to display the stored product information and the generated ownership information.

A system and method for contextually aware customer item entry for autonomous shopping applications that includes an environmental sensing system distributed through a shopping environment that is configured to collect contextual data of customer activity in the environment; the environmental sensing system comprising at least a computer vision monitoring system, the computer vision monitoring system comprising a set of imaging devices distributed through the environment; a customer-managed item entry system that is movable through the environment by the customer and that is configured to collect item selection input; a virtual cart management module configured to manage a virtual cart with the item selection input and augmented at least in part by the contextual data, wherein the virtual cart is used in execution of an autonomous checkout process.